'20 MLS Helltown Beer Player of the Year

It's Kacper Przybyłko. This is my tenth player of the year award. I haven't changed my methodology since 2011.

2020: Kacper Przyblko

2019: Carlos Vela
2018: Josef Martinez
2017: Nemanja Nikolić
2016: Bradley Wright-Phillips
2015: Bradley Wright-Phillips
2014: Robbie Keane
2013: Darlington Nagbe
2012: Chris Wondolowski
2011: Todd Dunivant

FINAL MLS Table, Covid Year 2020

MLS wrapped up possibly the strangest regular season in their history yesterday. Most teams were able to play 23 games (11 less than the normal 34), but not all. 7 of the 12 teams in the Western Conference couldn't get to 23, while all in the East did.

The Philadelphia Union are the winners of the Supporters' Shield this year.

The Columbus Crew were able to finish 4th by way of games won over Orlando. The Crew were on top of the standings for a good chunk of the season, but away results, as well as injuries, took hold.

The MLS Playoffs start next Friday, November 20th.

Club	PPG	GDpGM
Philadelphia	2.04	1.04
Toronto FC	1.91	0.30
Sporting KC	1.86	0.62
Columbus	1.78	0.65
Orlando City	1.78	0.65
Seattle	1.77	0.95
NYCFC	1.70	0.52
Portland	1.70	0.48
Minnesota	1.62	0.48
Colorado	1.56	0.22
FC Dallas	1.55	0.18
Los Angeles FC	1.45	0.36
Nashville	1.39	0.09
New England	1.39	0.04
NY Red Bulls	1.39	-0.09
San Jose	1.30	-0.70
Vancouver	1.17	-0.74
Montreal	1.13	-0.43
Miami	1.04	-0.43
Chicago	1.00	-0.26
Real Salt Lake	1.00	-0.45
LA Galaxy	1.00	-0.86
Atlanta	0.96	-0.30
Houston	0.91	-0.43
D.C. United	0.91	-0.70
FC Cincinnati	0.70	-1.04

NYCFC v. Philly, Preview and Bet

Continuing onwards with my fake MLS betting even after my "L" last night. Speaking of:

LAST MATCH: I had Miami over Orlando because the had more to gain. They did take the 1-0 advantage and hold it for a while but man are there holes in that roster. Orlando ended up winning on a Nani finish off a loose ball in the box.

This morning is NYCFC v. Philadelphia Union. I'm going with the favorite; NYCFC.

NYCFC	-106	$25.00
Draw	300	$0.00
Philadelphia Union	250	$0.00

WHY: It's nearly impossible to know what frame of mind these players are in. Not just the pandemic, but an early morning kickoff (9 AM). I'm going with the team that has better, more professional players. Union have been slow starters over the years anyway. All I got, I guess.

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Notes:

1. Only using a 3 Way Moneyline (picking the result. Team A or B win or a match Draw). Keeping it as simple as possible.

2. I'm using the MGM odds because that's the league's official partner.

3. Also, I'll be using updated odds from the Bet MGM site, not MLS. I've already seen differences. 

4. My odds are locked when I place my fake bet, usually about an hour before posting on Helltown.

Top MLS Left Backs

Here is a snapshot of the best leftbacks in MLS. The methodology is simple - It's the average of the WhoScored.com player rank and my own Helltown rank.

Example: Daniel Lovitz

196th: WhoScored.com Rank
139th: Helltown Rank
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167.5: Average Rank

That rank is out of all players in MLS to have played this year. From there I just tease out all the left-backs in the league to see who is best. I'll post the table then add a few notes.

LEFT BACKS
26: Median age of the top twenty
$234k: Median yearly wage

	Name	BIRTHPLACE	Team	Age	Salary
1	Jordan Harvey	Mission Viejo, California	LAF	36	$165,000
2	Kai Wagner	Geislingen an der Steige, Germany	PHI	22	$360,150
3	Brad Smith	Penrith, Australia	SEA	25	$564,365
4	Ali Adnan	Baghdad, Iraq	VAN	26	$547,333
5	Justin Morrow	Cleveland, Ohio	TFC	32	$330,000
6	Ronald Matarrita	Alajuela, Costa Rica	NYC	25	$420,000
7	Daniel Lovitz	Wyndmoor, Pennsylvania	MTL	28	$97,453
8	Donny Toia	Tucson, Arizona	RSL	27	$131,254
9	Kyle Duncan	New York, New York	NYR	22	$57,225
10	Adam Lundkvist	Nykoping, Sweden	HOU	25	$303,750
11	Edgar Castillo	Los Cruces, New Mexico	NER	33	$250,000
12	Jorgen Skjelvik	Baerum, Norway	LAG	28	$1,066,667
13	Joao Moutinho	Lisbon, Portugal	ORL	22	$203,000
14	Connor Lade	Morristown, New Jersey	NYR	30	$132,750
15	Mohamed El-Munir	Tripoli, Libya	LAF	27	$202,833
16	Chase Gasper	Alexandria, Virginia	MIN	24	$56,250
17	Waylon Francis	Puerto Limon, Costa Rica	CLB	29	$199,167
18	Kemar Lawrence	Kingston, Jamaica	NYR	27	$382,750
19	Nick Lima	Castro Valley, California	SJE	25	$218,438
20	Marcos Lopez	Callao, Peru	SJE	20	$387,750

NOTES: 1. You'll notice more than one left-back on a couple teams (NYR has 3!). That's because I'm using the position they play most this season. Three on the Red Bulls or two on San Jose mean the system employed by the coach is beneficial to whatever player is slotted in there. 2. MLS does not pay for this position. Only a handful of players earn more than $500k a year. 3. I always use STATS, Inc.'s Birthplace data. Keeps it simple.  4. I round ages up, so a 35.7 year-old is 36. 17.6 is 18 and so on.

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WHO I LIKE:

Kai Wagner (22, Germany) You've got a young (by MLS standards) player performing well on a good Philly team. There seems to be a feeling among the team there that his position is "up for grabs." They should start him every time he's able. Opta has him at 4 assists, STATS at 5. Either way, best at the position.

Brad Smith (25, Australia) Liverpool academy and then to the senior team from 2008-2016. Loaned to Swindon Town in 2014. Liverpool sold eventually sold him to AFC Bournemouth who has now loaned him to Seattle. Same as with Wagner - Opta has him at 4 assists, STATS at 5.

Ali Adnan (26, Iraq) His excellent performances are being wasted on a horrible Vancouver side. 2 assists and a goal to go along with 2 man of the match awards (highest rated player of the game). Overall, he's the highest-rated left back according to WhoScored.

Kyle Duncan (22, USA) He's splitting time on the right and left, but good performances at 22 years.

Jordan Harvey (36, USA) Long-time MLS-er that you may have never heard of. He's been in the league since 2006. Colorado, Seattle, Philly, Vancouver and now LAFC. He started in the league at $11,700 p/yr and still grossly underpaid at $165k.

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Here are the same group of players sorted by WhoScored rating. Includes minutes played, which can sometimes be misleading with players who only have a few games.

Rating	Name	BIRTHPLACE	Team	Age	Mins
7.19	Ali Adnan	Baghdad, Iraq	VAN	26	1572
7.07	Kyle Duncan	New York, New York	NYR	22	784
7.05	Chase Gasper	Alexandria, Virginia	MIN	24	483
7.00	Ronald Matarrita	Alajuela, Costa Rica	NYC	25	819
6.90	Mohamed El-Munir	Tripoli, Libya	LAF	27	410
6.84	Donny Toia	Tucson, Arizona	RSL	27	1154
6.83	Connor Lade	Morristown, New Jersey	NYR	30	845
6.80	Brad Smith	Penrith, Australia	SEA	25	1552
6.80	Joao Moutinho	Lisbon, Portugal	ORL	22	1072
6.79	Kai Wagner	Geislingen an der Steige, Germany	PHI	22	1792
6.79	Edgar Castillo	Los Cruces, New Mexico	NER	33	1357
6.78	Jordan Harvey	Mission Viejo, California	LAF	36	1439
6.77	Daniel Lovitz	Wyndmoor, Pennsylvania	MTL	28	1710
6.75	Justin Morrow	Cleveland, Ohio	TFC	32	1855
6.71	Jorgen Skjelvik	Baerum, Norway	LAG	28	1168
6.69	Adam Lundkvist	Nykoping, Sweden	HOU	25	1464
6.69	Kemar Lawrence	Kingston, Jamaica	NYR	27	904
6.68	Marcos Lopez	Callao, Peru	SJE	20	802
6.67	Waylon Francis	Puerto Limon, Costa Rica	CLB	29	1383
6.60	Nick Lima	Castro Valley, California	SJE	25	1040

A FEW FINAL THOUGHTS

MLS doesn't seem to want to spend on defense and at the goalkeeper position. It makes me wonder at times if MLS has a positional cap, of sorts. Regardless, there are good players here. Wagner and Adnan might give you a reason to watch two forgotten corners of MLS in Philly and Vancouver.

On the USMNT front, Daniel Lovitz shows up on this list in the top 10 (ish). It's easy to see why Gregg Berhalter picked him up in January and has included him ever since because Gregg operates like a computer.

GB: Is he the correct age?
CPU: YES.
GB: How did it play the previous season?
CPU: 1 GOAL 4 ASSISTS AS A LEFT BACK.
GB: Ohh. Where?
CPU: Hinterlands, Canada.
GB: I see he's an East Coast kid too, USMNT material.

That's basically it. Which is fine. When you look at the world through a New Jersey lens, Lovitz makes sense, but I think he's a tiny flash in the pan as far as MLS players. Duncan and Gasper might be worth a closer look. But that's it on the LB USMNT front in MLS.

Lastly, if I'm a team with any sort of ambition I'm looking to pluck away Ali Adnan. First Iraqi to play in Serie A, but a series of unfortunate events brought him to MLS. Here's his goal this year.