Saturday, July 27, 2019

Top Right Mids in MLS


Here are the best right midfielders in MLS so far this season. With info on every position in the league, it's important to say that MLS has a problem filling certain positions with quality players. Right midfield happens to be one of those spots.

The mechanics behind this list are simple. I average the player's rank at WhoScored.com with my own here at Helltown. Example: Paul Arriola is ranked 166th at WS and 103 at Helltown = 134.5. I then tease out all the RM's and rank.

Name(2)BIRTHPLACETeamAgeSalary
1Cristian EspinozaBuenos Aires, ArgentinaSJE24$550,000
2Michael BarriosBarranquilla, ColombiaFCD28$500,000
3Julian GresselNeustadt an der Aisch, GermanyATL26$133,000
4Paul ArriolaChula Vista, CaliforniaDC24$707,000
5Ezequiel BarcoVilla Gobernador Galvez, ArgentinaATL20$1,425,000
6IlsinhoSao Paulo, BrazilPHI34$357,000
7Alex MuylNew York, New YorkNYR24$127,750
8Przemyslaw FrankowskiGdansk, PolandCHI24$661,688
9Orji OkwonkwoBenin City, NigeriaMTL22$220,000
10Ethan FinlayDuluth, MinnesotaMIN29$400,008
11Omar BrownePanama City, PanamaMTL25$89,781
12Ulises SeguraGuadalupe, Costa RicaDC26$170,000

$379k: Median Salary for top RM's in MLS
24.5: Median age of top RM's in MLS

A lot of players playing in the prime part of their career's here. If you look closely you'll see that only one player is over the age of 30 (this table rounds age, 29.6 = 30). MLS is can be a very direct league. Some teams have adopted a more possession-based style, but even those games can devolve into direct affairs. What this means is lots and lots of running. It's almost a requirement to be young.

NOTABLE RIGHT MIDS

Cristian Espinoza Still owned by Villarreal CF and on loan to MLS's San Jose Earthquakes. He has spent almost all of his time on the right side this season. Matías Almeyda is doing a wonderful job with this player. Injury free this year with two goals and seven assists. Helltown has him ranked 4th best in MLS, WhoScored 24.

Michael Barrios He's as solid as ever with FC Dallas, now his 5th year with the team. "Can start on any team," might be an overused cliche, but it's 100% true with Barrios.

Julian Gressel Playing a little more on the right side of the formation in Atlanta this season, but he's versatile enough to play just about anywhere. His youth training was in Germany yet somehow found his way to the US via college (Providence). Atlanta picked him up in 2017 and he's been a consistent performer with them ever since. Grossly underpaid. Sometimes I think being a "draft pick" hurts the pocketbook the first few years. Hopefully, he gets a raise soon.

Here is the same list, only sorted by WhoScored rating:

RatingNameBIRTHPLACETeamAgeMins
7.37Ezequiel BarcoVilla Gobernador Galvez, ArgentinaATL20558
7.30Cristian EspinozaBuenos Aires, ArgentinaSJE241628
7.18Michael BarriosBarranquilla, ColombiaFCD281695
7.12IlsinhoSao Paulo, BrazilPHI34657
7.04Julian GresselNeustadt an der Aisch, GermanyATL261759
6.83Paul ArriolaChula Vista, CaliforniaDC241492
6.83Alex MuylNew York, New YorkNYR241211
6.83Omar BrownePanama City, PanamaMTL25564
6.80Przemyslaw FrankowskiGdansk, PolandCHI241425
6.73Orji OkwonkwoBenin City, NigeriaMTL221072
6.52Ulises SeguraGuadalupe, Costa RicaDC261143
6.47Ethan FinlayDuluth, MinnesotaMIN291242


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