YNT-eligible MLS players: 2021 In-season thread

My major tiers:

Major Contributors:
George Bello
Aidan Morris
Caden Clark
Cole Bassett
Tanner Tessmann
Ricardo Pepi
Julian Araujo
Efrain Alvarez
Cade Cowell
Gianluca Busio

Breakout Candidates:
Griffin Yow
Kevin Paredes
Moses Nyeman
Andres Jasson
Cam Harper
Leon Flach
Sebastian Berhalter
Dante Sealy
Bryce Duke
Christian Torres
David Ochoa
Chris Garcia
Danny Leyva
Cameron Duke

Everyone else below this I think will either not play or get very sporadic minutes as depth players for injuries/international break fill ins

 

Players that seem to be unlikely breakout candidates but that I really, really like:

Thomas Roberts
Dante Sealy
Gilbert Fuentes
Justin Haak
Tyler Freeman

 

If you had to pick one, Freeman or Sealy?

 

Based on the splurge of signings at the wing position, its unclear to me when Sealy will play this season. Its depth that also is unlikely to be gone for international callups. Dante hasn't been a contributor in preseason. That's not a comment on his talent level. He's still only 17 (well, for a week anyway). Even without knowing everything about SKC's depth chart, I'd pick Freeman to get more minutes than Sealy.

On @David Kerr 's list above, I'll go with Cam Harper as the one that will be moved from the Breakout Candidate list to Major Contributor list by the end of the year. Following him, it sure seems like the DC United kids are going to be given a shot. I personally rate Nyeman as the best of that bunch, so he's my second choice to move to the Major Contributor category.

Players not on his breakout list that could be there by the end of the season? The Philly kids. They're not far down the depth chart, and we know that Philly isn't afraid to give them a chance. I'll say that by the end of the season, McGlynn and Harriel have debuted...................and the hype will start.

There's one team that's been really quiet this offseason. Chicago. There might not be a more anonymous club in MLS right now. There's virtually nothing of interest for USMNT fans in their starting XI. Pineda I guess. They have a bunch of thread eligible guys now. Actually tied for the most thread eligible players with 8. They have a former USYNT and club youth coach as their head coach. Can you go thru a season without playing a 3rd of your roster? Probably not. So I suspect that those kids will play. How good are they? I don't know. What say you @ussoccer97531 and @David Kerr ? Which of those Chicago kids is likely to get the most minutes. Is it Brian Gutierrez? He quietly got into 6 games for them last season.

 

Sealy, no question. I've stalled on my expectations for Freeman, so I'll be interested to see where he is this season.

My expectations for Sealy are sky high. Even if Clint is right and he doesn't play much this season, I'd be inclined to think that would be part of a longer term strategy that they have for him.

What is Chicago's right back depth like? I wouldn't be surprised if Andre Reynolds plays a decent amount. Another pick that I am not expecting, but it wouldn't surprise me.

 

I'm not sure Freeman or Sealy are good choices for a breakout in 2020.

We're not hearing positive evaluations of them from coaching staffs, etc. like we are with players like Jasson and Flach.

If the Reynolds situation has taught us anything, its that patience can be a virtue. Reynolds wasn't ready, wasn't ready, wasn't ready, wasn't ready................and then BAM! Opportunity collided with readiness.

 

I do like the Cam Harper take. I’m just not too sure of how quickly he breaks in but I think he’s going to generate quite a bit of hype for himself this season

I don’t have big expectations at all for the Philly 03/04’s this season. I think Jack McGlynn is the most MLS ready and that Brandan Craig will have the best career of the quartet. I do think they’ll all get 5-10 substitute appearances this season but that isn’t very much. Next season I’m expecting a lot more from them. Nathan Harriel hopefully should get some solid minutes this season as a backup right back

I don’t really know what to think of the Chicago kids. I’m highest on Allan Rodriguez but he also isn’t ready for minutes at all. I’ve never been a big fan of Brian Gutierrez and didn’t think at the DA level that his play was good enough for a HG deal. Alex Monis is good but not physically ready for the league yet. Obviously neither of the GK’s will play. My bet for this season is Javier Casas

 

That was kind of the point. I was looking at players who look doubtful to make a break through but I think are ready to make an impact and will eventually have that BAM moment.

 

I meant Justin Reynolds with potential minutes at right back for Chicago. Is it way too early for him?

Those Chicago kids seem kind of like the Seattle kids who are slightly older -- a really solid group of future pros, but not necessarily many game breakers at the MLS level.

 

Justin Reynolds hasn’t been signed as a homegrown and most likely Chicago Fire haven’t filed for him to be added to the roster in 2021 like what happened with Alex Monis, Allan Rodriguez, and Chris Brady in 2020. Andre Reynolds is a left back but I don’t think he’s very good

 

I agree, but I would also say it’s a bit worrisome that those two (Freeman/Sealy) haven’t had that moment yet. Correct me if I’m wrong, but I’m pretty sure they were the 03s that signed the earliest. Freeman in 2018, Sealy early 2019.

 

They're both still really young. I think it's a little early to get worried. A lot of us probably have warped expectations for these teenagers in MLS.

 

Honestly never understood the Tyler Freeman hype but for the Dante Sealy talent level I expected him to be getting more minutes than he has/seems to be on track for this season

He was undoubtedly the standout from the 2019 Nike Friendlies among a group of players who are now getting pro minutes. Dante has always has major consistency issues but I expected a little more club progress

 

Atlanta about to kick off the second leg of their CONCACAF Champions League Round of 16 tie against Alajuelense on FS1. Rocco Rios Novo and George Bello start. Tyler Wolff and George Campbell are on the bench.

 

I think Freeman's attacking ability is really intriguing. He has the athleticism to dribble past players and the intelligence to combine with teammates and create for others off the dribble. These qualities haven't exactly popped for him in USL, though, so I'm interested to see if that comes back with more growth and professional experience.

 

Bello looked OK to me. His athleticism bails him out sometimes when bad positioning, etc. get him in trouble. He has some sketchy touches and can be a bit sloppy at times. Alajuelense was clearly targetting his side. I just wonder about him against better teams able to make him pay.

He's not a 16 year old prospect anymore. He's 19. I wanna see more growth.

 

My issue with Bello is that the weakness in his game has been there since he was 15 and he still hasn’t corrected it. He still loses focus defensively and loses track of his positioning and leaves himself exposed. Tony Annan did an entire presentation on Bello and even pointed this out. The other holes in his game he’s fixed for the most part. I do worry about his ability to play in tight spaces under pressure like Antonee Robinson. But Bello does look like a more athletic and higher ceiling version of Antonee

 

I agree with you but I do somewhat agree with Kerr too. One thing that I think has somewhat hampered the growth of Freeman,Sealy,Roberts,Palomino,Mendez is that they all were allowed to occupy somewhat free roles in DA. I think this is part of the reason they all have been inconsistent and awkward against grown men. They were all gamebreaking talents in their youth days, but that free/10 role that they played as youth doesn’t really exist in the modern game and the MLS teams that do play with one typically use a DP anyway. It’s the same reason that guys like Ozil,Isco,Mata,Gotze and James aren’t used now and the same reason Foden,Grealish,Bernardo are being made in to wingers or 8s. If you’re not an absolute freak (Neymar,Messi), that free role won’t be available to you. All 5 of the kids obviously still have plenty of time, but their ceilings and play time will probably come down to whose IQ will allow them to transition to a different role.

 

Players have to play two ways these days; no disagreement. This is a big part of the struggle for Mendez.

I don't really think that Sealy's issue, though. He's played mostly winger, and is merely young and inconsistent. Roberts has that inconsistency issue, though his lack of size/strength is a real defensive concern.

 

I know a lot of these kids aren’t eligible age wise even if they were nationality wise. But this Toronto’s plethora of HGPs are playing some very nice soccer against Leon right now.

 

Toronto has some really nice HG’s, their academy does well finding and developing the best Canadian talent in their area

Jahkeele Marshall-Rutty in particular is extremely talented. He’s no doubt the best 04 in concacaf. Only one who can contend with him is Malick Sanogo

 

I’m interested in Flauch. Im not super confident in it coming good though. He is getting on the ball a ton because he runs a lot, both to get open and to take the ball from the other team. He’s kind of like a bat out of hell. But when he’s on the ball it’s like he doesn’t calm down, he wants to play too progressively / risky. When if he slowed it down it could help the team.

He’s combining really effectively with Wagner. That will allow Wagner to get more involved offensively and I think that’s interesting.

If Curtin can effectively get in his ear, and get him too keep the same energy and boldness but with more on the ball effectiveness he could be awesome. I think if he becomes Dax McCarty 2.0 Philly could be very happy.