MLS Fantasy Tips: Week 3

Expansion Seattle Sounders FC are no fluke

By Dave and Jimmy Bowers / Special to MLSnet.com

Seattle's Fredy Montero is worth every penny of his hefty fantasy price tag. (C. Trewin/Getty )

The first few weeks are a good time to gauge all the players on your team and this past week proved the first week was not a fluke for some players -- such as Fredy Montero, Osvaldo Alonso, and Kasey Keller.

It's now also a good time to sell high and buy low to give your team more flexibility down the road. Did some of your players not play the first two weeks? Get rid of them now before their price goes down. Search each week when the price changes come out to see who went down in price, and target that player for your team if you believe they will bounce back later and buy them at a lower price.

This week, we will note some of the top undervalued forwards in MLS Fantasy Challenge:

Top undervalued forwards:
1. Fredy Montero (SEA, $475,000): Yeah, we know, that's a lot of money, but this guy is worth even more.
2. Patrick Nyarko (CHI, $314,000): The former Virginia Tech product has started out well this year, with one goal and one assist so far this season.
3. Cam Weaver (SJ, $250,000): The 2006 USL Rookie of the Year is the big target forward that San Jose has been looking for, with one goal and one assist on the season. 4. Ryan Johnson (SJ, $278,000): Another good pickup to get from San Jose, the 24-year-old Jamaican has teamed well with Weaver up top.
5. Omar Cummings (COL, $433,000): The University of Cincinnati product has started off the season well with a goal in each of the two games the Rapids have played.

Things to keep an eye out for this week:

Injuries. The following link is updated by the league on Tuesdays and Fridays: http://web.mlsnet.com/stats/injuries

Keep an eye on C.J. Brown (CHI), Stefan Frei (TOR) and Sanna Nyassi's (SEA) injuries and adjust appropriately.

Lineup changes. Some changes made due to World Cup qualifying duty, others to injury: Gerson Mayen (CHV), Corey Ashe (HOU), Jed Zayner, Alex Grendi (CLB), Marc Burch (DC), C.J. Brown, Daniel Woolard (CHI), Ray Burse (DAL), Marco Velez, Pablo Vitti (TOR), Brad Knighton (NE), Danleigh Borman, Luke Sassano (NY), Abe Thompson, Lance Watson (KC), Steve Zakuani (SEA).

Discipline. Jon Conway (NY) out due to commissioner's suspension.

Tip(s) of the week: Columbus Crew play two games this week. Beef up your chances with three Crew players and their coach.

This week's Top XI for points:

Goalkeeper: William Hesmer (CLB). With two games this week, Hesmer has a good chance of accumulating multiple points. This week's games are against Real Salt Lake, who were shutout by the expansion Seattle team last week, and Chivas USA. If not for a fluke own goal last week, he would have had a shutout last week.

Defender: Chad Marshall (CLB). The 2008 MLS Defender of the Year had a very good game against Toronto last week, shutting down their top offensive forces. Playing two games this week should allow Marshall to gain more chances for goals and clean sheets this week.

Defender: Michael Harrington (KC). The 23-year-old University of North Carolina product has a home game this week against a San Jose team that had a hard time scoring away from home last season.

Defender: Chris Klein (LA). Playing as a right midfielder this season, the 11-year MLS veteran should get many opportunities to rack up points for you this season from the MLS Fantasy Challenge defender slot.

Midfielder: Javier Morales (RSL). The 29-year-old Argentinean was a serious candidate for the MVP trophy last season. Look for him to get on track this week with a home game against the Columbus Crew.

Midfielder: Dwayne De Rosario (TOR). Coming home to Toronto in the offseason from Houston should re-invigorate DeRo. With a home game against the expansion Seattle club, look for him to add to his 51 career goals.

Midfielder: Brad Davis (HOU). With D.C.'s defense in disarray due to injuries, look for Davis to take advantage of this and rack up some points off of goals and assists.

Midfielder: Shalrie Joseph (NE). The 2-time All-Big East selection while at St. John's is a steady influence for the Revolution. Playing a home game this week against FC Dallas should allow Joseph to pick up points for your team.

Forward: Landon Donovan (LA). The U.S. international leader in career goals scored has already started out well this season in MLS with two goals. Look for him to add to these totals this week with a home game at The Home Depot Center against the Rapids.

Forward: Guillermo Barros Schelotto (CLB). The 35-year-old Argentinean is off to a great start this season, with two goals to his credit. Look for him to connect a few times this week as he leads the Crew in two games this week.

Forward: Brian McBride (CHI). The former Fulham player will be playing for the Fire the entire season this year. Look for him to add to his 68 career MLS goals with a home game this week against the New York Red Bulls at Toyota Park.

Coach: Robert Warzycha (CLB). Has started the season with two ties. He has two opportunities this week to break into the win column with games against Real Salt Lake and Chivas USA.

We used a 3-4-3 because last week the highest points were scored by the midfielders and forwards. We believe that trend will continue.

Here are our official teams for Week 2:

Dave:
GK William Hesmer; DF Chris Klein; DF Jim Brennan; DF Omar Gonzalez; MF Emmanuel Ekpo; MF Darren Huckerby; MF Sacha Kljestan; MF Stuart Holden; FW Fredy Montero; FW Guillermo Barros Schelotto; FW Cam Weaver. Coach: Robert Warzycha. Bench: Sanna Nyassi, Jordan Harvey, Greg Janicki. Captain: Guillermo Barros Schelotto.

Jimmy:
GK William Hesmer; DF Jordan Harvey; DF Aaron Hohlbein; DF Chris Tierney; MF Darren Huckerby; MF Emmanuel Ekpo; MF Dave van den Bergh; MF Stuart Holden; FW Landon Donovan; FW Guillermo Barros Schelotto; FW Fredy Montero. Coach Robert Warzycha. Bench: DF Greg Janicki, MF Sanna Nyassi, MF Colin Clark. Captain: Guillermo Barros Schelotto.

Next week's focus: We will take a look at the midfielders who are undervalued.

Questions? Comments? Contact us at mlsfantasygurus@comcast.net.