1 Pity Martinez ATL at NSH 9.0 Nashville should be a very defensive and organized team this season, relying on the counter to score a majority of their goals. I'm counting on Atlanta to be able to break them down nonetheless.

2 Lucas Zelarayan CLB v. NYC 9.5 In Caleb Porter's system, and surrounded by as much quality as he is, this former Tigres standout could very well approximate or even improve upon Porter's star attacking midfielder when he led the Timbers to a championship, Diego Valeri.

3 Alejandro Pozuelo TOR at SJ 11.0 Pozuelo may have faded down the stretch last season, but keep in mind he essentially played a full European season then came to North America for another 4+ months. Rested and with a full preseason, Pozuelo is going to give opponents a ton of trouble.

4 Joao Paulo SEA v. CHI 8.5 When Lodeiro is fully fit and ready, Paulo will play more of a reserved midfield role. When Lodeiro is out, it's likely Paulo will fill the #10 role, which he already did in CCL with instant success. This guy is good.

5 Daniel Royer NYRB v. FCC 8.5 Red Bulls are right there with Nashville and Vancouver as having the least flashy roster in MLS. I like this team though. Royer, Josh Sims, Florian Valot, and Marc Rzatkowski all can be valuable fantasy contributions from the wing and whomever starts is definitely in play against what might be a dysfunctional Cincinatti side.

6 Jamiro Monteiro PHI at DAL 8.5 Monteiro will probably never get the full credit he deserves, because he's not on one of the league's premier teams. Atop Philly's new midfield diamond, he could get similar bonus point production but add some goals and assists to last year's already respectable total.

7 Nicolas Lodeiro SEA v. CHI 12.0 If Lodeiro was healthy and definitely playing, he could be #1 this week. We can reassess after Thursday's crucial CCL match.

8 Kaku NYRB v. FCC 8.0 The biggest advantage New York has in this matchup is that their midfield trio should dominate Cincinatti's. Kaku will find plenty of space if Cincy haven't quickly figured out how best to cover for a deep-lying Haris Medunjanin.

9 Eduard Atuesta LAFC v. MIA 10.5 Atuesta has been nursing some minor injuries and missed LAFC's first CCL leg. I don't imagine he plays both fixtures this week, so keep an eye on Thursday's match. If he suits up against Inter Miami, with the rest of the first team alongside him, he'd a top five midfield play.

10 Ezequiel Barco ATL at NSH 8.5 Pity is getting all the attention, but Barco looks like he raised his game a notch in the offseason as well.

11 Latif Blessing LAFC v. MIA 10.0 Check the formation each week to make sure Blessing is playing as an attacker, but assuming he is, he'll likely have no problem producing similar figures to last year's impressive fantasy outputs.

12 Sebastian Blanco POR v. MIN 10.5 Portland want to be an aggressive attacking team and that will suit Blanco if they can stay faithful to the plan. Their leaky defense may necessitate some changes, though.

13 Maximiliano Moralez NYC at CLB 11.0 Maxi's fitness does not seem 100% headed into the year, and it may never be this season, but when he's starting he has to be seriously under consideration. New manager Deila is more eager than Dome was to unleash this to notch attacking group.

14 Edison Flores DC v. COL 10.0 MLS does not get many players like the slippery Flores. Against teams without an athletic defensive midfield, he could wreak havoc. Jack Price will likely have some issues this weekend.

15 Diego Valeri POR v. MIN 10.5 With two new forwards, the signing of Yimmi Chara, and Jeremy Ebobisse still in the mix, Valeri could easily be the Timbers first sub each game or a super-sub himself.

16 Cristian Espinoza SJ v. TOR 9.0 It's tough to tell what we're going to get out of Toronto FC, sans Michael Bradley, to start the year. It's also really tough to predict how San Jose will come out of the gate after last year's slow start and horrid ending.

17 Younes Namli COL at DC 8.5 Namli is a name to watch as Colorado's new playmaker. It will be important to see how his chemistry develops with Colorado's numerous attackers and if he can siphon any set pieces from Jack Price.

18 Rodolfo Pizarro MIA at LAFC 10.0 At LAFC? Nah. We don't even know who is playing forward for Miami right now - it might even be Pizarro as a false 9.

19 Mauricio Pereyra ORL v. RSL 8.5 Undoubtedly a quality player, Pereyra didn't threaten goal enough in his limited action last year for me to rank him any higher without getting a good look at him under Pareja this weekend. Remember that Nani is out for the first two matches.