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From The Goat Parade: A Look At Marky Delgado

Most figured Toronto FC would pass on their pick when it came out that they had the 14th position in the Chivas USA Dispersal Draft. But when they got their turn, the player who was somehow still available was too good to pass up.

By Mitchell Tierney and Alicia Rodriguez
Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

Admittedly, Marky Delgado isn't a player that most have watched at great lengths, a byproduct of him playing for one of the teams at the bottom of the table. But when it became clear that Chivas USA would be taking a hiatus, and releasing all of their players through a Dispersal Draft, Delgado's name was brought to the forefront. Most assumed that the young fullback would be taken with one of the draft's first couple of picks, maybe even the first overall. But for most this was only a conclusion based on pre-draft readings and mock drafts.

One of those heavily cited pregame readings came from SB Nation's Chivas USA blog, The Goat Parade. With that being the case, Waking The Red figured who better to give more insight on Toronto FC's newest player than Alicia Rodriguez, the site's managing editor. Here is what she had to say about Marky Delgado:

Marky Delgado was signed in the spring of 2012 by Chivas USA as a Homegrown player. An international for the U.S. through the various youth levels, Delgado only got one appearance in 2012, sort of a "welcome to the league," before seeing quite a bit of action the next two seasons.

In 2013, Delgado picked up a lot of starts after Jose Luis Real took over as Chivas USA coach in the summer, and the renowned youth coach played the youngster primarily as a fullback (he played on both sides, though he's right-footed). Given the needs on the roster, with almost no actual fullbacks on the team (an indictment of the terrible roster planning by the regime that season), Delgado got a lot of minutes in MLS and had an opportunity to learn the position with little competition.

But this season, his role changed again. New CUSA coach Wilmer Cabrera, who also built up a reputation as a good coach for young players, gave Delgado almost as many minutes on a stronger team. However, Cabrera brought Delgado back to midfield, and ended up playing him across the midfield over the course of the season. And the good news is that Delgado took advantage of the opportunity, and scored his first goals in MLS this year, and also added an assist.

I think there are two potential knocks on Delgado at this point in the 19-year-old's career. First, what is his best position? Having versatility can help some players see action, certainly, but it can also sometimes come at the expense of actual development over time. And second, he's had minor knee surgery two years in a row, ending his season both times. I think the timing of those surgeries probably coincided with the end of the season more than anything (in other words, they were of the 'out for 6-8 weeks' variety), but if it happens a third time in a row, his body may just not be able to fully hold up for an entire season.

Still, Delgado was a young, hardworking player who improved every season he was on the team. You can't ask much more than that, and I'm eager to see how the rest of his career plays out.

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