22. Fabián Castillo Pos: M/F | FC Dallas | Age: 20 Castillo has gone from an FC Dallas hopeful last year to an established talent in MLS in 2012, as his blistering pace continues to be too much to handle for most opponents. His ability to turn that speed into goals has improved this year (three goals in August), although his finishing still needs work. With the return of influential playmaker David Ferreira, Castillo could be set to take another step forward. What TDs and coaches like: "He’s a game-changer ... You can't teach speed, and he is flat-out fast ... He's got a starting point that most players in our league don't have ... Since I've seen him play, from the beginning to today, I've seen improvement soccer-wise ... Tactically, I think he's getting more in tune with the game and adapting to the league better, and he has shown good improvement ... He runs with the ball well and knows he has a lot of pace and that he can get by you on the inside and outside. He has the ability to score five to 10 goals and get five to 10 assists in a season ... I wouldn’t be surprised if he made a push into the Colombian national team ... He’s a player most teams would like to have." Where TDs and coaches want improvement: "Great pace, gets into great positions, just needs to be a little more effective once he gets into those positions ... Just a little bit more maturity, but he's a good player ... Castillo’s played a lot more this year ... For Castillo, work on finishing every day, work on crosses, working on that final third connection is important ... Super exciting player but I don’t know if he has turned out more of an end product recently. Certainly at the beginning of the year he hadn’t scored goals but what an exciting player.



Opta Says: Fabián Castillo has more than twice as many successful dribbles (61) as any other player under 24 during the 2012 MLS season.