WTR MLS Fantasy League: Week 1 recap

So round one of MLS Fantasy of the 2018 season is in the books! The fantasy this week should serve as a welcome distraction to that of the actual Toronto FC squad, who opened the season with a 2-0 home loss to the Columbus Crew.

Just to get the ugly out of the way, the highest scoring TFC player of this round was the captain himself, Mr. Michael Bradley with a whopping six points. I feel like someone should apologize to all the people out there (including myself) that took it upon themselves to captain Sebastian Giovinco, who posted three points. Frustrating for anyone who attempted to boost their squad with a lot of the good guys but i'll call it a fluke. It can only get better right?

After venting that out, let's take a look at the leaderboard in our Waking The Red group (Also, if you haven't yet it isn't too late to join! Just click here for more info on how to get your team rolling):

Top three teams this week!

Congrats to both Ostrander and Oldergoaler, who both posted a huge 86 points! Parra comes in third with a solid 77 points. The formulas for success used by them were each a little different as, due to budget restrictions it’s hard to just rely on one or two solid performers but it is possible.

Ostrander was intelligent enough to captain Nicolas Lodeiro, who brought in 18 points for him despite the Seattle Sounders’ 1-0 loss to Los Angeles FC. His total squad had four double-digit performers with Lodeiro leading the way.

Oldergoaler had the right frame of mind to captain Kei Kamara, who posted 16 points (if you captained him). Kamara had a solid showing and a nice headed goal on his debut for the Vancouver Whitecaps. He also used Alphonso Davies and Cristian Techera of the Whitecaps, who accounted for 12 and 9 points respectively as Vancouver beat Montreal in the all-Canadian contest.

Parra had more of a team effort with captain Michael Bradley and the aforementioned Alphonso Davies each chipping in 12 points a piece. It should be noted Parra had much more room for potential with four players not participating in their contests (one of them being the unfortunate Jordan Morris who will likely miss the rest of the season due to injury).

Tips for this week

• Keep an eye out for byes in MLS. For example, TFC have a bye this week due to CONCACAF Champions League commitments. So benching or swapping these guys is recommended.
• The Houston Dynamo were one of the best teams at home last season and easily one of the worst on the road last season. They look like they might be continuing that trend this year, so taking some of them for another home contest against Vancouver might be a solid idea especially after week one's 4-0 demolition of Atlanta.
• Alex Bono's USMNT compatriot and hero of the Crew's season last year, Zack Steffen should have another solid week in goal. After getting the clean sheet in week one and posting nine fantasy points, his Crew host the Impact at home and look set up for another solid performance.

Best of luck to everyone this week! Any suggestions on player pickups or fantasy tips are encouraged!