H are our week 17 Midfielder picks.

If you want to see more, keep reading after the break. But please join the discussion at r/FantasyMLS, that’s where a lot of planning is made and last second decisions finalized. If you have questions, please stop by!

These were the toughest picks for us this week, and it’s all because of the Gold Cup. So we’re just going to get the warning out now so it does not have to be added to each player. The Gold Cup is coming and the games are from July 7-28. Here’s a link to the schedule: http://www.goldcup.org/page/GoldCup/Schedule/0,,12802,00.html.

Midfielders

I’m going to stat with the Gold Cup risk players. With internationals being over, we’re seeing a lot of great point earners return and right at the top (unsurprisingly) is Graham Zusi. His game against Dallas could be a little challenging but they have a very attractive lineup after that. With the return on Robbie Keane and a game against Chivas, Landon Donovan should be on your short list, if you can afford him. He did not have a great game yesterday, but this is Chivas we’re talking about. On the slightly more affordable side, we have Brad Davis. We like the Toronto game, but after that the next three weeks for Houston are not ideal. This could be perfect if he gets called up for the Gold Cup, but you may be able to wait for their home game run. Finally, if you had the guts to consider getting Russell Teibert during his bye week, he’s also on Canada’s Gold Cup list. If he ends up staying he could be a great differential and is under $6m.

As for the rest, several teams are a bit out of form right now, and that makes it more difficult to find ideal picks. Our top pick is Javier Morales. RSL has an OK run of games coming up but Morales has been in great form and that’s hard to ignore. He’s also pretty affordable at $8.6m. If you can’t afford Zusi, and want to take advantage of the nice run of game Sporting Kansas City has, Oriol Rosell is a good option. He’s able to get offensive and defensive bonus points, but tends to be in a middle range of points. If LA is more to your liking, but can’t afford the $10+m for Donovan, you could take a look at Robbie Rogers. He started against Portland and showed some promise at getting attacking bonus points and he’s only $7.2m. One final player to keep an eye on is Mike Magee. He’s been on … Fire at Chicago (sorry). Columbus should be a little harder than Colorado was, but with their defensive injuries, you never know. He did leave the game early yesterday, so make sure he’s not injured before you get him. Portland also has several options, but with two byes in a row soon, I‘d avoid them.

That’s all we have for this week, Gold Cup rosters should be posted by June 28. After that, we should have a good idea on who could be a good differential for those weeks.

Final thoughts

• Stupid Gold Cup

• A few big names are worth it

• Watch out for bye weeks

That’s all I got. I’d love to hear your feedback, plans, and insights.

These are our picks, if you think there should be more names on this list, please leave a comment or come to r/FantasyMLS and comment on the post. You can also leave a message on our Facebook page or you can find us on Twitter @FantasyMLSTips. Keep checking back for more updates through the week for other positions. Good Luck!