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)	BIRTHPLACE	Team	Age	Salary
1	Cristian Espinoza	Buenos Aires, Argentina	SJE	24	$550,000
2	Michael Barrios	Barranquilla, Colombia	FCD	28	$500,000
3	Julian Gressel	Neustadt an der Aisch, Germany	ATL	26	$133,000
4	Paul Arriola	Chula Vista, California	DC	24	$707,000
5	Ezequiel Barco	Villa Gobernador Galvez, Argentina	ATL	20	$1,425,000
6	Ilsinho	Sao Paulo, Brazil	PHI	34	$357,000
7	Alex Muyl	New York, New York	NYR	24	$127,750
8	Przemyslaw Frankowski	Gdansk, Poland	CHI	24	$661,688
9	Orji Okwonkwo	Benin City, Nigeria	MTL	22	$220,000
10	Ethan Finlay	Duluth, Minnesota	MIN	29	$400,008
11	Omar Browne	Panama City, Panama	MTL	25	$89,781
12	Ulises Segura	Guadalupe, Costa Rica	DC	26	$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:

Rating	Name	BIRTHPLACE	Team	Age	Mins
7.37	Ezequiel Barco	Villa Gobernador Galvez, Argentina	ATL	20	558
7.30	Cristian Espinoza	Buenos Aires, Argentina	SJE	24	1628
7.18	Michael Barrios	Barranquilla, Colombia	FCD	28	1695
7.12	Ilsinho	Sao Paulo, Brazil	PHI	34	657
7.04	Julian Gressel	Neustadt an der Aisch, Germany	ATL	26	1759
6.83	Paul Arriola	Chula Vista, California	DC	24	1492
6.83	Alex Muyl	New York, New York	NYR	24	1211
6.83	Omar Browne	Panama City, Panama	MTL	25	564
6.80	Przemyslaw Frankowski	Gdansk, Poland	CHI	24	1425
6.73	Orji Okwonkwo	Benin City, Nigeria	MTL	22	1072
6.52	Ulises Segura	Guadalupe, Costa Rica	DC	26	1143
6.47	Ethan Finlay	Duluth, Minnesota	MIN	29	1242

READ ABOUT OTHER POSITIONS

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MR Post: Top MLS Players 21 and Under

Put together a post for Massive Report on my top 21 MLS players 21 years of age and under. HERE

What makes it a little different than my earlier post on the topic is that I used WhoScored.com and Castrol Index player ratings along with mine as a guide to find the best young players in the league.

I think it worked out well. Of the around 90 players in MLS 21 and under I see about 30 that play regularly and another 15 or so that bounce between ‘reserves’ and gameday 18s.

I’ll keep an eye on these players over the course of the next 12-18 months (2-3 international transfer windows) and see how many move on to better leagues. I’m guessing guys like Rosell, Fagundez, Jean-Baptiste, Torres and maybe Gil and the like will be moving on in that time.

One guy I really like at the moment is Soony Saad. Not just because he is a decent player but he’s also got a good body type. One of the more noticeable differences I see between foreign leagues and MLS is player body types. It’s extremely noticeable in person.

A couple years ago I saw Stoke take on the Crew and was shocked at the size difference. Not just height but thickness. Same thing when Wigan came to town this year. It’s like there is another 2” layer of thickness all around on players in Europe (that's Eddie Gaven on the ground in my illustration).

Anyhow, other guys like Yedlin, Rowe, McInerney, Farrell, Villarreal and Kitchen might become MLS stalwarts in years to come.