MLS Fantasyland: Round 17

Last round was a little strange as it combined two matchdays in separate weeks. Your lineup locked last weekend like normal, but they also included the Wednesday matches as well just a few nights ago. This certainly caused some confusion, but luckily, I managed to pull through in a big way to finally get back on track.

Trying to handicap these past few international weeks from a fantasy standpoint has been an absolute chore, but it definitely forced fantasy owners to dig a little deeper into team's depth charts, which will only help you in the long run.

As for Round 17, several big names have returned, and there's only 3 teams on a bye week, so it's really time to make some headway up the ladder. As it sits right now, All We Do Is Nguyen is currently 588th in the world, and 10-6 in the official Fantasyland H2H league, so there's PLENTY of room for improvement.

Let's get it!

ROUND 17 STUDS

Jordan Harvey. DEF. Vancouver ($4.5m). Who? And he plays for Vancouver? Both questions I posed when seeing this week's dream team. However, when you get 90 minutes in BOTH matches, score a goal in BOTH matches, and accumulate some bonuses along the way, you're going to put up points. Good week from the Whitecaps defender.

Darlington Nagbe. MID. Portland ($8.0m). Pretty similar story from Nagbe this week as well, as he went the full 90 in both matches and also scored a goal to get him a 13 point week. Strong results have been coming from the Timbers' midfielder for some time now. At only $8m, he's definitely worth a look.

Camilo Sanvezzo. FWD. Vancouver ($8.0m). INSANITY. BANANAS. 164 minutes played. 3 goals. 1 assist. Bonuses everywhere. 25 points. Best week by a single player? Yep.

ROUND 17 SCRUBS

Landon Donovan. MID. Los Angeles ($10.5m). We're harsh on LD all the time, but I'm still expecting more than 2 points when I invest $10.5m in a player.

Chris Wondolowski. FWD. San Jose ($10.0m). Four points from his last three matches. I, along with thousands of other owners, are pretty much tired of waiting. Wondo was transferred OUT by more than 4,300 managers last week.

THE TRANSFER MARKET

First and foremost, with internationals returning, it's important to do a little bit of homework and find out how returning stars are doing fitness-wise. Are players like Graham Zusi and Omar Gonzalez going to slot right back into their lineups? It's a more than fair question, because you certainly don't want to be paying those big price tags for a cameo appearance!

Federico Higuain ($9.1m) is certainly worth a look this week, as he's scored 17 points in his last three matches. With a home match against Chicago this week, Higuain would be a solid replacement for the thousands of managers looking to replace Marco Di Vaio this week. Crew teammate Dominic Oduro is a sneaky good play as well, as he's the fifth-lerading forward at only $7.3m.

I like the Houston Dynamo matchup this week against Toronto FC at home, so take a look at players like Will Bruin ($8.2m), Brad Davis returning from international duty ($8.8m), and even Tally Hall ($5.8m) whose 78 points places him fifth among goalkeepers.

Lastly, do your homework on defenders this week. You've gotta like ANYONE playing Chivas USA, so keep an eye on Omar Gonzalez ($5.9m) and his status. Also, they're the top two players in fantasy, so, as always, if Aurelien Collin ($6.6m) and Graham Zusi ($9.9m) are healthy and playing, they are almost MUST choices to be in your team.

Good Luck as always, and I'll make sure to post my lineup this weekend for full disclosure!