Dour scoreless draw between Minn.II & Fire II. Both teams had a man sent off for second yellows before halftime. After 8 rounds Minn takes the extra point on PKs 7-6.
THE BACK HEEL! Diego Otoya makes it 2-0! pic.twitter.com/Vc9IkOVi9E— Earthquakes II (@EarthquakesII) May 8, 2022 Tri eligibility. US, Peru and Guatemala. 04 academy player
Otoya is a player that really should’ve been in the recent US U-19 camp. We lack CF’s for the U-20’s. I think he would’ve done well, and could be an option for that team.
Very nice assist from Marcus Vazquez (‘05). Another one.😎Mondi gets his second and it's 2-0 @RealMonarchs! pic.twitter.com/3ZJJI19fAm— MLS NEXT Pro (@MLSNEXTPRO) May 8, 2022 Mataeo Bunbury (‘05) goal 1. 2-1! @SportingKCII gets a goal back and it's Bunbury!👊 pic.twitter.com/2TnQtWFaFW— MLS NEXT Pro (@MLSNEXTPRO) May 8, 2022 Mataeo Bunbury (‘05) goal 2. Bunbury ties the game at 2-2 with a soaring header!🚀 pic.twitter.com/HqD4wDgYiu— MLS NEXT Pro (@MLSNEXTPRO) May 8, 2022
‘01 Jacob Akanyirige puts @rnyfcofficial up to 3️⃣! pic.twitter.com/qmMIAnTRsU— MLS NEXT Pro (@MLSNEXTPRO) May 14, 2022 ‘01 Aziel Jackson ties it up for @mnufc2 👏 1-1! pic.twitter.com/mVNzIkEXMP— MLS NEXT Pro (@MLSNEXTPRO) May 14, 2022 ‘05 Kobi Thomas puts @Intermiamicfii on the board! 4-1! pic.twitter.com/ExLAD6UOcT— MLS NEXT Pro (@MLSNEXTPRO) May 14, 2022
I watched most of the Dynamo 2-Minnesota 2 game. The main reason I watched is because I sense I was missing something when it comes to Xavier Valdez (‘03). Very unorthodox path from non-MLS academies in NY to Shattucks St. Mary’s in Minnesota, and now Houston Dynamo. I don’t believe I had seen him play (or not that I knew) until yesterday, but he’s been in YNT camps lately, is on a first team contract, and has made the first team bench a few times as the third keeper. I was impressed. He’s listed at 6’6. Looks athletic for his size. Good with his feet also for 6’6. Made a nice save or two. Didn’t make any mistakes. I don’t want to make any assessments based on less than one game, but he looks like he’s certainly among the better ‘03 GK’s (Borto, Jones, Cordes, Sunderland). Juan Castilla (‘04) had some nice moments in a deep-lying #6 position. As I’ve mentioned a few times before, he reminds me a little of a left-footed Busio. It’s possible we see him play regular minutes for the first team next season, but it also may not be until 2023, especially if Raines jumps him in the line for first team minutes. For Minnesota, Fred Emmings (‘04) did well enough. I’ve seen him a few times now for the Next Pro team after it was hard to get viewings on his play the last year or two. Aside from size, I view him as a pretty rudimentary goalie prospect. Doesn’t do much that stands out positively or negatively. He’s somewhere in the pack of ‘04 GK’s after the big three (Dewsnup, Brady, Slonina) and Carrera. Devin Padelford (‘03) hasn’t impressed me that much. He was signed to an MLS contract and I was told that he’s someone to watch out for. He’s not terrible, but looks like a very basic LB and doesn’t even stand out at this level. Carlos Leatherman (‘04) at RB is a player I didn’t know anything about previously. Good technically. Looked about average athletically. Didn’t get much of an assessment on his defensive ability. He belonged though at this level.
Baker-Whiting scores and @TACdefiance take an early lead!👏 pic.twitter.com/iPZdTgUiIA— MLS NEXT Pro (@MLSNEXTPRO) May 16, 2022 Mataeo Bunbury doubles @SportingKCII's lead! ✌️ pic.twitter.com/Vn7EbNUaM0— MLS NEXT Pro (@MLSNEXTPRO) May 16, 2022 Yaya Toure with his second MLS NEXT Pro goal to wrap the first half. 4-1 | #SJvCOL pic.twitter.com/CelTX8HnkQ— Colorado Rapids 2 (@Rapids_2) May 16, 2022
‘05 to ‘05. That's that @SKCAcademy connection from Mataeo Bunbury and Guy Michaeli!#SJvSKC https://t.co/kvFgqXnMBr— SKCII (@SportingKCII) May 21, 2022 ‘04. 73' – SUPER SUB PABLITOOOOOO!!!! We now lead by 3!!!! #SLCvNTX | 0-3 pic.twitter.com/5UUJAnkdYa— North Texas SC (@northtexasSC) May 21, 2022
Haak goal. Off the corner! @NYCFCII's Justin Haak slams home the header for the opener! 💥 pic.twitter.com/sdVej3t6kD— MLS NEXT Pro (@MLSNEXTPRO) May 21, 2022 Akanyirige assist. .@rnyfcofficial's Pedro Dolabella gets behind the defense for the opening goal! pic.twitter.com/Nu5hlzb02A— MLS NEXT Pro (@MLSNEXTPRO) May 21, 2022 Freeman assist. UP AND OVER THE KEEPER! 😱Yan makes it 5️⃣ for @OrlandoCityB! pic.twitter.com/usvueZznuX— MLS NEXT Pro (@MLSNEXTPRO) May 22, 2022
Juan Castilla (‘04) assist. That’s how you open your account with Dos 🇧🇷 pic.twitter.com/wLnK6P05wi— Houston Dynamo 2 (@houstondynamo2) May 26, 2022
Here's a feature from TDS about college players leaving early for Next Pro. https://www.topdrawersoccer.com/col...ls-next-pro-is-drawing-college-stars_aid50835
Kocs-Washburn places it just inside the far post for @ChicagoFireNext's 5th! pic.twitter.com/5cjuaON7iC— MLS NEXT Pro (@MLSNEXTPRO) May 28, 2022 Rodriguez gets goal number 6 from a corner! What a header! pic.twitter.com/Gww4hxI6Nv— MLS NEXT Pro (@MLSNEXTPRO) May 28, 2022
I went through American Soccer Analysis' Goals Added Analytics to look at how the YNT-eligible Americans in Next Pro are doing. I tried to keep the sample to about 200 or more minutes. I wasn't going to list every player. I tried to list the ones on HG contracts, the ones who are doing very well, and the ones I deem notable names. These are how all the players rank. Positive numbers are good. Negative are bad. 0 is about league average. I listed their total score, and for the ones with scores I deemed sufficiently high or low in certain categories I also made note of that. Next Pro: Alex Freeman: 1.22 (.94 dribbling is 2nd in league.) Christian Nydegger: .94 (.26 fouling, .57 interrupting is 5th in league.) Ryan Quintos: .79 (.72 interrupting is 2nd in league.) Casey Walls: .63 (.39 passing) Alex Monis: .49 (.27 receiving) Diego Otoya: .35 (.56 receiving) Brandan Craig: .34 (.79 passing is second best in league. -.28 interrupting) Jack McGlynn: .29 Ethan Kohler: .28 (.26 interrupting) Nelson Pierre: .27 (-.32 passing, .31 receiving) Kenan Hot: .20 Bajung Darboe: .17 Paxten Aaronson: .16 (.25 fouling) Javier Casas: .13 Justin Reynolds: .13 Alfonso Ocampo-Chavez: .01 (.25 passing) Mataeo Bunbury: -.01 (-.38 dribbling, .52 interrupting) Jackson Gilman: -.04 Sergio Oregel: -.06 Josh Atencio: -.06 Devin Padelford: -.07 Juan Castilla: -.09 Kayden Pierre: -.09 Harrison Robledo: -.12 Cole Turner: -.13 Nolan Norris: -.17 Edison Azcona: -.19 Darren Yapi: -.19 Anton Sorenson: -.22 (.25 passing) Eric Kinzner: -.24 (-.28 interrupting) Noah Allen: -.24 Isaiah Parker: -.26 Missael Rodriguez: .26 ( -.32 receiving) Dantouma Toure: -.27 (.31 dribbling, -.31 receiving) Jude Wellings: -.28 Terron Williams: -.31 Ian Shaul: -.33 Chris Garcia: -.36 Danny Leyva: -.38 Collin Smith: -.38 (-.38 receiving) Reed Baker-Whiting: -.41 (-.31 dribbling) Alejandro Cano: -.43 Ben Cremaschi: -.44 Brooklyn Raines: -.44 Robinson Aguirre-Ortega: -.52 Jackson Travis: -.55 Luis Rivera: -.57 (-.49 passing. Impossible.) Guy Michaeli: -.59 (-.41 receiving) Juan Alvarez: -.63 Bobby Pierre: -.64 (-.56 interrupting) Thomas Williams: -.68 (-.62 interrupting) Esmir Bajraktarevic: -1.20 (-.31 passing, -.46 receiving. Worst in league among field players) Goalies: Chris Brady: 3.85 (3rd in league. 4.02 shot-stopping second in league. -.37 passing worst in league) Patrick Schulte: 2.69 (2.44 shot-stopping fourth in league) Fred Emmings: 1.74 Emmanuel Ochoa: 1.48 Xavier Valdez: 1.47 Antonio Carrera: .77 (-.36 claiming) Alex Rando: -.58 Hunter Sulte: -3.02 (third worst in league) Abraham Rodriguez: -3.70 (second worst in league) Gavin Beavers: -4.44 (worst in league)
Plenty of surprising numbers. Are defenders' numbers generally inflated, especially passing? Are midfielders' numbers are generally deflated? Who is Nydegger? His Wiki is pretty unusual: Christian Nydegger from Iranian U-23? Brady is arguably the top keeper in the league except for passing. I don't particularly care about passing for young keepers, to some degree it's a function of experience at a certain level and practice time. Is his passing really that poor?
I don’t think defender numbers are inflated. Craig’s passing is that good. Same for Walls. That’s their strength as CB’s. Freeman’s dribbling is also that good. He’s an elite offensive fullback that can probably become average defensively with some work. His defense doesn’t kill the team now, but it’s below average. Nydegger is a good player. I’ve always liked him. Combative, can dribble, pass. He’s short and has tunnel vision sometimes, but I think he’s a better prospect than a lot of players on HG contracts around MLS. Those Leyva numbers were a little surprising. I haven’t watched much of Seattle in Next Pro. Only one game. His MLS numbers were better than their other young CM’s, but sample was too small to list. Brady’s passing is bad. I think it’s partly skewed by that he had one play where a bad pass led to a goal against, but he should be among the worst in the league in that category. It’s getting better to his credit, but I don’t know that he can ever get it better than Matt Turner’s level of passing currently in the prime of his career.
The numbers quoted are the value of goals versus an average player at their position. So it's value versus an average player at their position -- which means if defenders seem really high it might be just that those defenders are much better than the average (and could just be a weakness in MLS Next). There's a lot of learn about G+, but we're also at a pretty low level here that there's even more to learn. Particularly if some of the underlying assumptions are even valid at this low of a level.
Turner's passing improved a lot this year. He will never be confused for Rimando, but is arguably adequate now.
Darren Yapi pulls one back for @Rapids_2 💪 pic.twitter.com/8hbkVOAiqk— MLS NEXT Pro (@MLSNEXTPRO) May 29, 2022 .@SportingKCII's Jake Davis sends in the header for the equalizer! 👊 pic.twitter.com/QI0qHKaDrX— MLS NEXT Pro (@MLSNEXTPRO) May 29, 2022 Aziel Jackson 🗣️🗣️🗣️ pic.twitter.com/Lv0Uqbx0Sl— MLS NEXT Pro (@MLSNEXTPRO) May 29, 2022 Assist for Aziel Jackson (‘01) after scoring a goal earlier in the game. He’s done well for the Next Pro team, and seems to be right on the verge of breaking through to regular first team minutes. https://t.co/YJPgSnQfAv— USMNTProspects (@ProspectsUsmnt) May 30, 2022
Great strike by Moises Tablante (‘01). Tablante is a winger with good dribbling ability. End product been ? at times. David Boccuzzo (‘04) had the assist after winning the ball back. Boccuzzo doesn’t get hype of Williams or Freeman in Orlando’s ‘04 age group, but a dependable #6. https://t.co/XoJLhK3Tz0— USMNTProspects (@ProspectsUsmnt) May 30, 2022
Earthquakes II coach Dan DeGeer deserves a shoutout for getting a good result on the road at St Louis City 2 with a very young squad. He started 2003 D-Mid Nathan Scott and right back Israel Carrillo, 2004 left center back Alejandro Cano and left back Tristan Viviani and 2005 right center back Ethan Kohler and keeper Emmanuel Ochoa. Even 2006 Cruz Medina got his first Next Pro minutes off the bench.
Emmanuel Ochoa, born in 2005, is one of the top goalkeepers coming out of MLS academies right now.He made this save in a penalty shootout to help secure the win for @EarthquakesII this weekend pic.twitter.com/YVWQESNILy— OPSM Soccer (@OPSMSoccer) May 30, 2022
Do you think Craig taking the freekick/corner duties affects that passing rank compared to other CB/defenders?
I don't know much about how the numbers are produced in practice, but honestly I'm surprised it's even possible to do with the quality of video recording that's available for these next pro games. And I would also definitely not be surprised if the model wasn't particularly valid for this playing level. Having watched a few of these games, the level of play is very, very different from the sorts of games the G+ algorithm must have been trained against.
Cody Baker 🗣️🗣️🗣️ pic.twitter.com/LmPZ89CqYC— MLS NEXT Pro (@MLSNEXTPRO) June 1, 2022 Assist from Danny Leyva (‘03) off a corner kick. https://t.co/jQCKWSh88G— USMNTProspects (@ProspectsUsmnt) June 1, 2022