This article is part of our MLS Barometer series.
Three Up
Diego Valeri
It was only a matter of time until the great Valeri showed up in this article! A true MVP candidate every season, Portland's top Timber has already rejuvenated thieoffense with his return from an ACL injury. Darlington Nagbe tried his best in Valeri's absence, but he cannot connect all of Portland's attacking pieces with nearly the same affect that Valeri does almost every time he steps on the field. On Saturday, the Argentine played between an attacking line of Rodney Wallace and Nagbe, with Fanendo Adi above them. Two of those other three players had arguably their best all-around performances of the season, and Valeri confidently curled the game winning goal past Evan Bush with a shot that looked anything but rusty.
While Valeri missed our preseason top-10 midfielders list, his return puts him squarely back in the mix. His 2014 scoring output of 11 goals and 14 assists are not out of reach, especially with the team's best ever defensive support allowing them to take more risks in attack. Typically, smart fantasy managers like to wait several games before trusting a player coming back from serious injury, but Valeri makes it difficult to hold firm to that rule.
Cyle Larin
Much has been made about Orlando City's need for an attacking player to step up and fill the shoes of injured midfielder Kevin Molino. There may not be an ideal solution, but Larin leads the way. Brek Shea has moved to the wing for now, and along with Larin, provides more size to the attack than previous iterations. The Lions aren't really built for attacking up the middle, Kaka's always threatening talent aside, and Larin should take advantage from an increased focus on crosses from the wing. His two goals this season, including one Friday, have both come that way thanks to a positional awareness that fans weren't expecting from a 20 year old. Additionally, Kaka is building chemistry with his teammates each and every week, including the young Larin, which only bodes well for the rest of the season. Martin Paterson's return from injury looms, and while that could put a hitch in Larin's lone claim to the forward spot, it doesn't feel like the positive momentum will be slowing down much in his rookie season.
Mauro Diaz
Fans around the league were baffled when Mauro Diaz missed a large chunk of time early on this season. Manager Oscar Pareja calmly explained away concerns by saying Diaz needed to improve his fitness after battling some preseason knocks and that they did not want to play him at less than 100 percent. Skepticism abounded, but as usual, Pareja looks to have pulled all the right strings. The man affectionately (and accurately) described as a magic little unicorn by MLSsoccer.com writer Matthew Doyle is back and playing at a high level. With two assists on Saturday, one jawdropping (see below) and one a simpler cross, Diaz is showing signs of what made him one of Major League Soccer's most promising playmakers last season.
The preceding match saw him grab another two assists and a great goal, and he even finished a chance in his return to action two weeks ago. In other words, Diaz is on a great streak of form. Whatever you want to call the four-match absence earlier in the season, it is difficult to argue that it did not pay dividends. Much like Valeri, he is both back from injury and back in the conversation of top midfield players.
Three Down
David Villa
Villa's return from injury is promising, but let this serve as a warning to not fully buy in yet. He has as good a pedigree as practically anybody in the league, but his recent league action has been the opposite. This weekend epitomized NYC FC and Villa's season. After a rather poor 67 minutes, manager Jason Kreis decided it was time to pull the Spaniard from the Hudson River Rivalry in hopes to keep him as fresh as possible moving forward. Admittedly, it would be tough to blame Kreis if he was simply pulling Villa for his level of play. The former Barcelona and Atletico Madrid man pouted his way off the field, and when Kreis tried to rush him off rather than waste valuable seconds, Villa dismissed his boss. While Villa's desire to remain in the game is a positive, it's tough to ignore that moment. The last thing this team needs is tension between it's manager and their star players, particularly when the bench alternatives are as poor as any other squad in the league. Villa does have two goals in his four full 90-minute matches, but it truly doesn't feel that way for anyone who has watched the rest. Before you put your fantasy hopes and dreams on the extremely talented Villa, give him and NYC FC some time to figure things out and prove their worth.
Donovan Ricketts
Orlando City SC did well in the offseason to build what can only be considered one of the best expansion team defenses in league history...on paper. This group has tailed off after a solid start, and can only be described as one of the league's poorest defenses over the past several weeks. Orlando City has allowed seven goals in the past three matches, and Ricketts is less a victim and more a part of the problem. Looking well over-the-hill, the former MLS keeper of the year isn't even a top-half-of-the-league goalie any longer and is in serious danger of fading into the backup role as Tally Hall gets closer and closer to full health. The Lions project to be a poor possession team for the foreseeable future and it's difficult to see them ever fully returning to their early-season form. Ricketts' time as both a fantasy and real life factor could be coming to a rapid close, and it could be smart to abandon ship comfortably before the demise.
Juninho
Juninho is a fairly underrated midfielder among some MLS circles, thriving in directing the Galaxy attack and distributing the ball from the center of the pitch. That's tough to do when your team has as little of the ball as L.A. have lately, though. Without Robbie Keane, the Galaxy have focused much more on playing suffocating defense and picking their moments to counterattack. That might work for Bruce Arena, but it doesn't for fantasy managers of Juninho. The Brazilian fired nine shots towards goal in the first five games this season, but has just two in the last five. As always, the Galaxy will work things out under Arena, but it might take a push from Steven Gerrard later this summer. Whether Gerrard's arrival will help or harm Juninho's output is anybody's guess, and it's likely safest to wait and see. Hold off on considering L.A.'s soundest midfielder in fantasy, at least until Keane returns.
