On Monday, two of the Once A Metro writers took their crack at trying to valuate New York Red Bulls players if they were treated as stocks. Today, we are going to look at the valuations of RBNY compared to how they are valued in MLS Fantasy.
The Preseason Power Rankings gave RBNY a big ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ with the #11 spot. They have gone through their fair share of ups and downs throughout 2015, but now we are going to look at the individual players using the chart below:
Two things to consider with this chart. 1) it only displays players who have made a league appearance for RBNY. 2) it does not include players on loan. (Sorry, Dane Richards and Ryan Meara).
Biggest Mover: Bradley Wright-Phillips (+$0.8M)
BWP started the season valued at $10.5M. Even though he's the highest on the team, he increased his value the most. He went as high as $11.4M, but dropped to $11.3M this week. Well deserved for a striker with 8 goals and 6 assists.
Biggest Decrease: Chris Duvall (-$0.2M)
It's hard to kick a man when he's down, but Duvall's value declined heavily right at the beginning of the season. He started at $6.5M. Within five games, he decreased to $6.2M and bounced up and down a notch to sit currently at $6.3M. It's not going to get any better since he is injured for likely out for the rest of the regular season.
Best Value: Matt Miazga ($5.8M; 71 points)
Miazga is the only player on the team to experience a +$0.3 value increase from week-to-week. The rookie started the year at $5.5M based on age and experience, but has become one of the defensive leaders this season. He ranks 24th in the league on defense, which is very impressive for a player who missed four games for international duty. He is the lowest priced defender in the top 30. A very good pickup in my opinion. He's also made the MLS Team of the Week three of out of the last four weeks. He just turned 20 two days ago...
This is a great stat called out by MLSSoccer.com's Armchair Analyst:
"When Miazga and Damien Perrinelle start in central defense with McCarty in front of them at d-mid, the Red Bulls are a trophy-worthy 7-0-3. In all other games they are "kill it with fire!"-worthy 1-6-2."
Worst Value: Ronald Zubar ($7.4M; 9 points)
Zubar gathered over half of his fantasy points in the first game of the season against Sporting KC, but sustained an injury immediately. It took much longer to recover than expected and has only appeared in three games this season. He could be a very good addition to the starting XI, but needs to stay healthy.
Ironman: Felipe Martins (19 GP, 1,676 MP)
The Red Bulls have played 19 games this season (1,710 total minutes). Felipe has played in every single match, only missing 34 minutes. In those 19 games, he scored two or less fantasy points only three times. BWP is the only other field player to appear in every game as well, but BWP has been substituted for multiple times, decreasing his minutes played. Of course, Luis Robles should be recognized for playing every single minute of the season, but I chose a field player over a goalkeeper due to the demands of running over 90 minutes.
Sporadic Veteran: Roy Miller (13 points)
For a player who has averaged 1,672 MP over the last three seasons, Miller has been a strange contributor this season. MLS players can be categorized into many areas. Some are full 90-minute players who are the stalwarts of the team (aka Dax McCarty). Some are guys who start, but will most likely be subbed after 60-70 minutes (Mike Grella). Some are last minute subs to kill time (Manolo Sanchez or Marius Obekop). Roy Miller fits into a category of his own. He has appeared in only six of RB's games this season. However, five of them, he has played at least 80 minutes (four of them, the full 90). It's odd to have a player that doesn't play, but can still be relied upon to play the entire game. Many players don't have the legs/lungs to play that amount of time if they aren't getting consistent reps and playing time.
Are there any superlatives that were missed? Let us know in the comments below!
