On Friday, Major League Soccer issued a press release announcing the creation of the Newcomer of the Year Award. While we'll have to wait until MLS Cup to see who actually wins the award, we figured we could take a look at this award from a fantasy soccer angle.
To clarify, the Newcomer of the Year is any first-year player in MLS who does not qualify for the Rookie of the Year Award.
The league listed the following players as candidates for the honor: Juan Pablo Angel (NY), Cuauhtemoc Blanco (CHI), Conor Casey (COL), Luciano Emilio (DC), Fred (DC), Maykel Galindo (CHV), Carlos Marinelli (KC), Guillermo Barros Schelotto (CLB), Juan Toja (FCD). Noticeably absent? Some bloke who's married to this woman.
Now, looking at the list in terms of fantasy value, Casey, Marinelli and Fred -- simply because he's not even the best Newcomer on his own team -- are not even worth mentioning.
While Toja and Schelotto have been pleasant surprises, both players have really tailed off since the start of the season. It could be argued that Schelotto is one of the leaders to a young Crew team, but that does not necessarily translate to production in terms of fantasy value. Toja, who was an MLS All-Star, could be considered FCD's MVP this season, but he has not scored in league play since tallying twice on July 14.
Blanco could be an intriguing pick for the actual award and anyone who has him on their fantasy team has been reeping the rewards -- but Blanco's limited amount of league action have hindered his season value (and likely his chances at the actual award).
That leaves us with Emilio and Angel. These two rank 1 (Emilio) and 2 (Angel) in the Golden Boot standings and have provided the league with electric moments throughout the campaign. Emilio would have an edge due to his singing skills, but Angel's tribute videos are equally impressive.
There is still more than a month left in the season, and obviously things can change from now until then, but Angel has our vote for Newcomer of the Year. Angel, who 334 Total Points in Soccer Fantasy Pro, has stabilized the Red Bulls and made them into a winning club. He's also been able to do nearly as much as Emilio in fewer games.