2025 Fantasy MLS Top 10 Rankings - Midfielders
All The Players Need To Be In The Game
Major League Soccer is the best league in the world, supporters and fans are never quite sure what they’ll get when a new season kicks off. I’d love to be able to view all the new designated players in the fantasy game and see who is listed as a forward or midfielder, but that’s just a surprise that MLS fantasy managers will have to wait for until AFTER the season starts. Like a toddler, I too like to jab jab then complain. Jab complaint combo out of the way.
Predictions for this years top 10 midfielders is made more difficult by the turnover of last years top 10 midfielders. Puig (LA Galaxy) is out for most the season, Evander (Cincinnati) and Acosta (Dallas) have moved to new clubs in the league, Bogusz (LAFC) and Santiago Rodriguez (NYCFC) have been transferred, while Rusnak (Seattle) might see diminished playing time and Gauld (Vancouver) might not want to wait and see who buys his club, if anyone does. A fair amount of turnover and not a lot of traditional number ten playmakers have joined the league as designated players or on large TAM contracts (don’t ask). Evander and Acosta will more than likely carry on their form with their new teams and will be some of the best fantasy options this season, unless they want to move again in the summer and play in South America. So who will step up, who will continue their form and what newcomers, if any will finish in the top ten. Here are my picks for the season.
Cristian Espinoza ($7.5) San Jose - at that price, it’s hard not to take a chance on Espionza especially early in the season as fantasy managers are trying to build value for their squads. Espinoza has had back to back seasons with either 13 goals or 13 assists and should be able to get closer to 20 goal contributions or more with Arango and Lopez as his go to buddies.
Hany Mukhtar ($8) Nashville - Nashville have not been a fun team to watch and Mukhtars back finally gave out last season from carrying the team for so long. New manager, new midfield, and the opportunity to sign another designated player, should be enough to help Mukhtar return to his old form. In three of his five MLS seasons, Mukhtar has tallied 24 to 30 goal contributions. He’s a former MLS league MVP and golden boot winner, so he knows how to set the tone.
Evander ($9) Cincinnati - I’m not convinced he got what he wanted. Evander went from the glorious northwest landscape of Portland to Cincinnati, Kentucky. Is that what he wanted? Regardless, he’s the magic player for a Cincinnati squad that broke the bank for a new center forward. He should continue with his ways with a little regression. Hard to follow up a perfect 30 goal contribution season with 15 goals and 15 assists.
Lucho Acosta ($8.5) Dallas - despite the change of scenery, he’s going to be on a slightly better team? Petar Musa should be excited to have him. Like Mukhtar and Evander, he’s been a prolific MLS midfielder. Might be some adjusting and regression with the new team this season but will continue to be a standout fantasy performer.
Djordje Mihailovic ($7.8) Colorado - He returned last season to MLS and made an instant impact, finishing in the top 10 among fantasy MLS midfielders with 20 goal contributions. With so much change, he should be a top 5 player at the end of the season. He scored 2 goals in Champions League this week, so I think he’s ready. If Colorado can keep Navarro in Denver for another season, Mihailovic could be even more prolific than last year.
Carles Gil (8.5) New England - Caleb Porter has publicly said that he now has the players he wants but does Gil feel that way? It’s a different squad with the same manager. Gil is 32 and this could be his last season in New England or at all in professional soccer. If this new squad works, it’ll be because of Gil. I envision him getting close to 20 goal contributions this season and Porter holding on for one more year.
Myrto Uzuni ($8.3) Austin - he’s a winger that’s really a center forward and was added to the game as a midfielder. Not sure what his instant impact will be but I’m betting that Austin got this transfer right. Uzuni has scored 10 or more goals in his last three seasons in the spanish top leagues and doesn’t have much of a track record of creating chances for his teammates. His fantasy floor and roof gets raised if he’s tasked with taking corner kicks, free kicks, penalties and being a creator for an Austin team that will rely on its fullbacks to bring the ball up the field.
Ryan Gauld ($8.5) Vancouver - I’ve ranked him eighth as at 29, this could be his “transfer me bro” season. Gauld thought he finally had a buddy in Vancouver, however after only four months, Stuart Armstrong decided he’d be better off back in England. That must be a record for the shortest stint for a MLS designated player. Maybe a new ownership group swoops in and signs some designated players in the summer, elevating his fantasy production. My premonition is that, before that happens, Gauld will move within the league and becomes an even more desirable fantasy midfield option. Maybe Columbus will pick him up. Gauld has back to back seasons with 20+ goal contributions.
Marcel Hartel ($8) St. Louis - I have high hopes and expectations for St. Louis this year and I’ve picked both Hartel and Teuchert to be some of the best and most consistent fantasy options this season. Hartel did a mic drop on the German Bundesliga 2 before transferring to MLS by tallying 29 goal contributions in a season. Like Teuchert, he adapted quickly to MLS with 8 goal contributions in nine matches. St. Louis should be a lot of fun to watch.
Marco Reus ($8.5) LA Galaxy/ Emil Forsberg ($8) NJRB - It’s not right to pick two players in the final spot, but so much depends on their fitness and health. If one or both of these players are healthy over the course of a very long and fixture congested MLS season, they could be top fantasy picks week in and week out as their clubs will heavily rely on their goal production. On the other hand, if both of them, or one of them miss significant time due to injuries and just being old - Reus is 35 and Forsberg is 33, then someone younger and more fit will occupy this space or the last old person standing.
More to come on goalkeepers and defenders and my picks for the first gameweek of MLS fantasy. Yes, oh, yes.