The forward position is one that can really make or break a MLS Fantasy team any given week. Making the right moves to fit the heavy artillery into your lineup could pay big dividends, while missing out on a Josef Martinez or Zlatan Ibrahimovic hat trick could see your squad plummet in the standings.
Hop on newcomers?
The new season marks the end of an era for fantasy monsters like David Villa and Sebastian Giovinco, but we have some shiny new toys to play with in the form of Alexandru Mitrita and Cristian Espinoza. It’s yet to be seen how quickly the newcomers will adapt to a new environment, which means for fantasy purposes sometimes it’s best to take a wait-and-see approach before loading up.
Josef or Vela?
Josef Martinez led all forwards with 31 goals and 266 fantasy points in 2018 and he’s predictably high on the radar once again, albeit with a new provider in Pity Martinez. While Josef led the way in total fantasy points, Carlos Vela boasted the best average of all forwards with 8.68 fantasy points per game (compared to 7.82 FPPG for Martinez). Vela’s ability to rack up fantasy points across multiple categories plants him slightly ahead of the more goal-dependent Martinez in my 2019 preseason fantasy rankings.
Rank |
Player |
Team |
Price |
|---|---|---|---|
1 |
Carlos Vela |
LAFC |
$11.0 |
2 |
Josef Martinez |
ATL |
$11.0 |
3 |
Zlatan Ibrahimovic |
LA |
$11.0 |
4 |
Wayne Rooney |
DC |
$11.0 |
5 |
Alexandru Mitrita |
NYC |
$10.0 |
6 |
Darwin Quintero |
MIN |
$11.0 |
7 |
Bradley Wright-Phillips |
RBNY |
$10.5 |
8 |
Raul Ruidiaz |
SEA |
$10.5 |
9 |
Cristian Penilla |
NE |
$9.5 |
10 |
Maxi Urruti |
MTL |
$9.5 |
11 |
Fredy Montero |
VAN |
$9.0 |
12 |
Mauro Manotas |
HOU |
$9.5 |
13 |
Gyasi Zardes |
CLB |
$9.5 |
14 |
Cristian Espinoza |
SJ |
$8.5 |
15 |
Alberth Elis |
HOU |
$9.5 |
16 |
Diego Rossi |
LAFC |
$9.5 |
17 |
Kei Kamara |
COL |
$9.5 |
18 |
Dom Dwyer |
ORL |
$9.0 |
19 |
Nemanja Nikolic |
CHI |
$9.0 |
20 |
Fanendo Adi |
CIN |
$9.0 |
If you’re interested in getting all the details about the changes to the 2019 fantasy game, or if this is your first year playing, check out the video above from the Fantasy United FC crew or you can listen to the first preseason episode of the MLS Fantasy Insider Podcast.
