Fantasy: Week 17 positional rankings

Reid, Mike and Blayne take a break from all of the World Cup action to sit down and get back to breaking down Round 17 of the MLS Fantasy Season. They start out with a quick review of the few takeaways from the short Round 16 slate of games and try to make sense of both Piatti and D.C. United going forward. After that, they identify their most promising games and top targets for Round 17. Everything kicks off on Saturday, so be sure to take a break from the World Cup to listen to this episode before you set your Round 17 lineup.

With the FIFA World Cup in full swing, Round 17 offers an opportunity to test your knowledge of the league’s rosters and solidify your standings with as we enter the final few weeks of the Spring MLS Fantasy season.

There are 10 matches on the slate this weekend. The New England Revolution, LA Galaxy and D.C. United are the three teams on a bye.

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Goalkeepers

Sporting Kansas City didn’t lose anyone to the World Cup, so there’s little reason to look past the league’s top scorer from the goalkeeper position: Tim Melia. If you’re not feeling Melia, Andre Blake and Nick Rimando also make strong selections in Round 17.

Rank	Player	Team	Opponent	Price
1	Tim Melia	SKC	vs. HOU	$9.8
2	Andre Blake	PHI	vs. VAN	$8.2
3	Nick Rimando	RSL	vs. SJ	$7.3
4	Luis Robles	RBNY	vs. DAL	$6.7
5	Zack Steffen	CLB	at LAFC	$7.9
6	Sean Johnson	NYC	vs. TOR	$7.0
7	Joe Bendik	ORL	vs. MTL	$4.3
8	Brad Guzan	ATL	vs. POR	$6.4
9	Stefan Frei	SEA	vs. CHI	$7.0
10	Tyler Miller	LAFC	vs. CLB	$6.8

Defenders

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Steven Beitashour | USA Today Sports Images

LAFC’s Steven Beitashour was unlucky not to make Iran’s 23-man roster, but this omission lands him in the top spot of the Round 17 defender rankings. The veteran notched a goal and assist in his last outing. Outside of Beitashour, Sporting KC and New York City FC defenders look to be dependable options.

Rank	Player	Team	Opponent	Price
1	Steven Beitashour	LAFC	vs. CLB	$8.1
2	Graham Zusi	SKC	vs. HOU	$12.5
3	Matt Besler	SKC	vs. HOU	$10.5
4	Alexander Callens	NYC	vs. TOR	$8.1
5	Justen Glad	RSL	vs. SJ	$8.5
6	Keegan Rosenberry	PHI	vs. VAN	$9.4
7	Tim Parker	RBNY	vs. DAL	$7.3
8	Ike Opara	SKC	vs. HOU	$10.1
9	Anton Tinnerholm	NYC	vs. TOR	$6.5
10	Edgar Castillo	COL	vs. MIN	$6.3
11	Sebastien Ibeagha	NYC	vs. TOR	$5.9
12	Michael Parkhurst	ATL	vs. POR	$8.2
13	Kemar Lawrence	RBNY	vs. DAL	$7.7
14	Laurent Ciman	LAFC	vs. CLB	$9.8
15	Aaron Long	RBNY	vs. DAL	$8.3
16	Harrison Afful	CLB	at LAFC	$9.3
17	Lalas Abubakar	CLB	at LAFC	$11.0
18	Reggie Cannon	DAL	at RBNY	$8.5
19	Tommy Smith	COL	at MIN	$5.2
20	Nick Hagglund	TOR	at NYC	$4.7

Midfielders

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'Kaku' Gamarra | USA Today Sports Images

Even against a stingy FC Dallas defense, the New York Red Bulls’ Alejandro Romero “Kaku” Gamarra leads the midfielders coming into Round 17. The newly-minted Paraguay international impressed in his first look with his new national team and is a good bet to carry that confidence into MLS play. Outside of Gamarra, the usual suspects (Nicolas Lodeiro, Miguel Almiron, Maxi Moralez) should find places on your roster.

Rank	Player	Team	Opponent	Price
1	Alejandro Romero Gamarra	RBNY	vs. DAL	$11.8
2	Miguel Almiron	ATL	vs. POR	$13.6
3	Maxi Moralez	NYC	vs. TOR	$12.0
4	Nicolas Lodeiro	SEA	vs. CHI	$12.2
5	Federico Higuain	CHI	vs. COL	$11.0
6	Ignacio Piatti	MTL	at ORL	$11.3
7	Victor Vazquez	TOR	at NYC	$10.2
8	Aleksandar Katai	CHI	at SEA	$9.5
9	Jonathan Osorio	TOR	at NYC	$9.2
10	Daniel Royer	RBNY	vs. DAL	$7.8
11	Diego Valeri	POR	at ATL	$11.7
12	Danny Hoesen	SJ	at RSL	$10.1
13	Johnny Russell	SKC	vs. HOU	$9.4
14	Tyler Adams	RBNY	vs. DAL	$6.9
15	Daniel Salloi	SKC	vs. HOU	$10.5
16	Julian Gressel	ATL	vs. POR	$8.6
17	Ezequiel Barco	ATL	vs. POR	$8.6
18	Yordy Reyna	VAN	at PHI	$6.2
19	Borek Dockal	PHI	vs. VAN	$6.4
20	Benny Feilhaber	LAFC	vs. CLB	$9.3
21	Sebastian Blanco	POR	at ATL	$9.3
22	Bastian Schweinsteiger	CHI	at SEA	$10.6
23	Sean Davis	RBNY	vs. DAL	$8.7
24	Ilie Sanchez	SKC	vs. HOU	$11.0
25	Saphir Taider	MTL	at ORL	$9.8
26	Sacha Kljestan	ORL	vs. MTL	$8.6
27	Vako	SJ	at RSL	$8.2
28	Justin Meram	ORL	vs. MTL	$5.5
29	Josue Colman	ORL	vs. MTL	$6.3
30	Cristian Roldan	SEA	vs. CHI	$7.5

Forwards

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Josef Martinez | USA Today Sports Images

Having found the net in each of his past four outings, Josef Martinez remains the most enticing striker in the group. With Atlanta United’s elite players still in town and playing at home, his high-end potential makes him a must-have in Round 17.

Rank	Player	Team	Opponent	Price
1	Josef Martinez	ATL	vs. POR	$10.7
2	Bradley Wright-Phillips	RBNY	vs. DAL	$11.3
3	Sebastian Giovinco	TOR	at NYC	$11.9
4	David Villa	NYC	vs. TOR	$12.2
5	Adama Diomande	LAFC	vs. CLB	$7.8
6	Israel Tajouri-Shradi	NYC	vs. TOR	$8.4
7	Gyasi Zardes	CLB	at LAFC	$9.6
8	Dom Dwyer	ORL	vs. MTL	$10.0
9	Alberth Elis	HOU	at SKC	$10.4
10	Kei Kamara	VAN	at PHI	$8.2
11	Maxi Urruti	DAL	at RBNY	$9.8
12	Romell Quioto	HOU	at SKC	$10.0
13	Nemanja Nikolic	CHI	at SEA	$5.9
14	Dominique Badji	COL	vs. MIN	$6.9
15	Diego Rossi	LAFC	vs. CLB	$9.5
16	Jefferson Savarino	RSL	vs. SJ	$6.7
17	Darwin Quintero	MIN	at COL	$9.0
18	C.J. Sapong	PHI	vs. VAN	$4.9
19	Will Bruin	SEA	vs. CHI	$7.2
20	Chris Wondolowski	SJ	at RSL	$6.1

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Andrew Winner -

@Winner_MLS