Got a couple of positive reviews about the more free form/stream of conscience format from last week, so I’m going to give it a shot again for this week. Input is always welcome.

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! We also just rolled out a new forum layout!

This week should be a lot easier for many managers. The only big worry that many people have is when international players will be leaving. Unfortunately, I don’t have any solid answers for that question, but there have been some threads popup at r/FantasyMLS so I recommend checking those out and checking back.

Keepers

There is a lot of, what I would call, evenly matched games this week for keepers or at least games that could go 50/50 for shutouts. SKC is playing HOU in a rematch from their game a couple of weeks ago. This one looks tight, but I’d have to give the edge to Jimmy Nielsen due to How Houston tend to play on the road. DAL v SJ is another head scratcher. Fernandez is a great keeper to have, but the lingering injuries that Dallas has been experiencing are worth considering, especially when going up against the all-out attack that San Jose has. This is one of the 50/50 games for me and one I could easily ending in a draw (let’s face it; Busch has not had luck with shutouts).

Scraping the bottom of the barrel are NE v TOR and COL v CHV. All of these teams have been struggling but they do have some standouts: Dan Kennedy is one. Kennedy has been a great bonus point generator and is fairly prices at $5.0. My only worry is that Deshorn Brown may be able to get one by this week; New England has me scratching my head a bit. They have two keepers to choose from (Bobby Shuttleworth and Matt Reis) and I’m not sure who will be starting in the future. I’d love to have a NE keeper for Week 15 and because of the run of home games they have, but I’m not sure who to get just yet. One of these guys could be an ideal differential. And we can’t forget about Clint Irwin who has been one of the standout value picks of the season so far.

The only other keepers I want to point out are Robles and Rimando. Luis Robles is number one when it comes to total points and he’s under $6m. New York has really turned it and he’s a guy to keep an eye on. Just keep in mind that their home game run is about over and they have a bye in week 15. Nick Rimando the 2nd in points and RSL have a great run of home games that includes week 15, but he is on the USMNT roster so you may want to look to the RSL bench if you want one of their players.

Everyone else is either not a real standout to us or just has a game that could go both ways.

Final thoughts

• Still, for the love of all that is good in the world SELL HAMID!

• Watch out for International players: Hamid, Johnson, and Rimando at least

• Could be hard for a shutout this week. Keep defender health in mind too

• Carlo Cudicini? Your guess is as good as mine.

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!