Author: Shaun P Kernahan

March/April MLB Debuts

Each month here at The Stain we will look back at the players who made their MLB debuts in that month. This month we will extend a few days as the season started on March 30th.

This year we saw plenty of big name prospects debut with three players in the MLB top 100 prospects coming into the season, Anthony Volpe, Jordan Walker, and Grayson Rodriguez. We also saw Masataka Yoshida debut after being the big international free agent signing, and we also saw a 2022 draft pick in Zach Neto find his way to the big leagues. 

Best Hitting Debut:

Joey Ortiz, 2B, Baltimore Orioles – 1-3, 3 RBI – Ortiz got his first career hit in the top of the fifth inning on a grounder into right field scoring both Jorge Mateo and Adam Frazier. Two innings later he connected on a sacrifice fly to score Adam Frazier giving him the most RBI in a debut of anyone to start the season. 

Best Pitching Debut:

Logan Allen, LHP, Cleveland Guardians – 6 IP, 5 H, ER, BB, 8 K, W – There were quite a few arms that secured a win in their debut, but nobody performed better than Allen. The first batter of the game was Jon Berti who went down swinging to give Allen his first career MLB strikeout, although Berti did get his revenge in the third as he hit a solo home run for the only run Miami managed to score against Allen.

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Best Hitting Month:

Masataka Yoshida, OF, Boston Red Sox  – It is no surprise Yoshida had the best month, as he is a 29 year old Japanese veteran in his first MLB season. That said, he has been much better on the road than at home, where he is hitting below the Mendoza Line. Given his ability to use the whole field it was, and still is, expected he take advantage of the Green Monster in left, but just hasn’t found it enough yet. 

Best Pitching Month: 

Jose Hernandez, LHP, Pittsburgh Pirates – In addition to the Pirates being a surprise team in the first month, they have also seemed to find them a quality reliever as well. It won’t likely be a trend to see a reliever have the best month, but given he has only walked one hitter, given up only a single run, and struckout 11 through 11.2 innings over nine outings is proof positive he has become a reliever the team can rely on. 

Worst Debut:

Hogan Harris, LHP, Oakland Athletics – 0.1 IP, H, 5 BB, HBP 6 ER – This won’t be a monthly feature, but the stat line is just too eye popping to ignore. Harris managed to face just eight batters in his debut, walking five of them, hitting another, and only recorded one out. He was sent back down to AAA after the game so he currently has a career WHIP of 18.000 and career ERA of 162.00.

Best Story:

Drew Maggi, 3B, PIttsburgh Pirates – Another entry that won’t necessarily be a monthly inclusion, but how can you not include Maggi when discussing player debuts this month?!?! Maggi spent 13 season in the minor leagues with six different organizations and seen action in over 1,100 games before finally making his big league debut, with the team that originally drafted him back in 2010. The 34-year old went 0-1 in his debut, but finally got his first career hit in our nation’s capital over the weekend.

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F1 Azerbaijan 2023 Preview

F1 is coming off a month long break and return with the race in the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. F2 is in Baku as well, so there is plenty to preview. 

During the extended break Mercedes spent a ton of time working on their cars hoping to make them more competitive with the Red Bull team. Lewis Hamilton found himself on the podium in the last race, but admitted he still wasn’t comfortable with the car. Not much is knows as to how well the adjustments will translate to the track, so the Friday practice is incredibly important, especially given it is the only practice before qualifying since it is a weekend that features a sprint race. 

Speaking of the sprint race, that entire process has been reworked for this season, as there will be a separate qualifying specifically for the sprint and the sprint race itself will no longer impact the Sunday grid. That Sunday grid will still be determined via traditional qualifying on Friday following FP1, but now Saturday will be a sprint only day, with qualifying and the race both taking place Saturday. Qualifying will also be an abbreviated version, as SQ1-3 will now be 12 minutes, 10 minutes, and eight minutes while the point structure remains the same. This also means the only practice all weekend will be FP1, which is big in general, but even bigger this week given the month off and so many adjustments to the cars it seems all the teams have made.

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Last year Max Verstappen ran away from the rest of the field, beating teammate Sergio Perez by more than 20 seconds, while George Russell also found himself on the podium despite being almost 46 seconds behind Verstappen. Both Ferraris found themselves with a DNF due to mechanical issues, with Charles Leclerc actually leading the race at the time of his car troubles. So, what can we expect this year? My predicted podium is Verstappen-Perez-Fernando Alonso.

I fully anticipate the Red Bulls to have a great weekend just as they did a season ago as their speed on the straights is simply unmatched this season and it is a track that plays right into their favor. Perez had a miserable qualifying in Australia, but drove incredibly well working himself all the way up to fifth despite starting the race in the pit lane. Alonso has seemed reinvigorated this season and is off to a fantastic start, and I expect that to continue. 

Logan Sargeant and Nyck de Vries are the only two drivers still with a zero in the points column, but I think that ends for one of them this weekend. Williams racing has followed the lead of Red Bull and Aston Martin in going to new “super-drilled” brakes. While these were on the cars in Australia and neither Williams car reached the checkered flag, there were some positive takeaways and another month to fine tune should result in at least a point this weekend.

Meanwhile, on the F2 side, I expect to see a podium featuring points leader Ayuma Iwasa to win again but he won’t extend his lead in the driver championship by too much as Theo Pourchaire is my prediction to come through in second, while I think this is the weekend Jak Crawford gets his first podium in a feature race. 

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In racing news not tied to this weekend’s race, the F1 Academy, F1’s women’s only circuit, had their preseason testing days, two in Barcelona, Spain and two in Le Castellet, France. They are scheduled to have seven race weekends this season, with three races on each weekend. The only race weekend for the F1 Academy that will be a support race for a F1 weekend is the final Academy race of the season at the Circuit of the Americas in October. They will have their inaugural race weekend this week at the Red Bull Ring. 

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Coming out of testing the clear favorite is PREMA Racing’s Marta Garcia as she had one of the top two fastest laps in five of the seven practices, and a top three fastest lap in six of the seven practices in France. Her biggest competition will likely come from Rodin Carlin’s Abbi Pulling, who put in the fastest lap in four of the seven sessions, two more than Garcia and finished second to Garcia in another. The only other driver to put in a fastest lap in France was MP Motorsport’s Hamda Al Qubaisi. The season kicks off in Austria with two free practices and two qualifying sessions

2023 NFL Mock Draft

There are plenty of great mock draft simulators out there, for this I used Pro Football Network to make it easy to copy into this post. The big ones here for me is the number three QB, I don’t see a world where Anthony Richardson slips all the way to Detroit at 18, but I really feel the Colts need to go with a more ready QB hence me giving them Will Levis, and then the slip just based on need. If the top four play out this way, expect a trade soon after by a team to come up and get Richardson. The other one that slipped here that I don’t expect to slip as far once the draft starts is Bijan Robinson. Robinson in the best RB prospect in years, which is the only reason he is being considered in the first round, much less possibly the first half of the first round. He slipped to the Cowboys here and would be an ideal fit for them given the Tony Pollard injury and the fact the Cowboys are best when the running game is on.

ROUND 1

  • CAR1. Bryce Young, QB, Alabama
  • HOU2. C.J. Stroud, QB, Ohio State
  • ARI3. Will Anderson Jr., EDGE, Alabama
  • IND4. Will Levis, QB, Kentucky
  • SEA5. Tyree Wilson, EDGE, Texas Tech
  • DET6. Jalen Carter, DT, Georgia
  • LV7. Paris Johnson Jr., OT, Ohio State
  • ATL8. Myles Murphy, EDGE, Clemson
  • CHI9. Broderick Jones, OT, Georgia
  • PHI10. Christian Gonzalez, CB, Oregon
  • TEN11. Jaxon Smith-Njigba, WR, Ohio State
  • HOU12. Jordan Addison, WR, USC
  • NYJ13. Peter Skoronski, OT, Northwestern
  • NE14. Devon Witherspoon, CB, Illinois
  • GB15. Michael Mayer, TE, Notre Dame
  • WAS16. Joey Porter Jr., CB, Penn State
  • PIT17. Lukas Van Ness, EDGE, Iowa
  • DET18. Anthony Richardson, QB, Florida
  • TB19. Cam Smith, CB, South Carolina
  • SEA20. Kelee Ringo, CB, Georgia
  • LAC21. Quentin Johnston, WR, TCU
  • BAL22. Bryan Bresee, DT, Clemson
  • MIN23. Brian Branch, S, Alabama
  • JAX24. Dalton Kincaid, TE, Utah
  • NYG25. Deonte Banks, CB, Maryland
  • DAL26. Bijan Robinson, RB, Texas
  • BUF27. Zay Flowers, WR, Boston College
  • CIN28. Isaiah Foskey, EDGE, Notre Dame
  • NO29. Nolan Smith, EDGE, Georgia
  • PHI30. Trenton Simpson, LB, Clemson
  • KC31. Darnell Wright, OT, Tennessee
Previewing USMNT vs. Mexico

Previewing USMNT vs. Mexico

The USMNT takes on Mexico at the University of Phoenix Stadium in Arizona on Wednesday night, but this doesn’t feel like a typical USA-Mexico matchup. Since this is not in a traditional FIFA window, the vast majority of the players taking part are domestic players, but that also opens up opportunities for other players to shine. 

Let’s break down the position groups, starting with the goalkeepers:

Sean Johnson – Toronto FC – 11 Caps

Drake Callender – Inter Miami – 0 Caps

Roman Celentano – FC Cincinnati – 0 Caps

Johnson is clearly the number one of the group, but Celentano has long been deserving of a look and it is good to see him on the roster. Callender will most likely be the keeper that doesn’t suit up, but having him in camp helps develop depth. 

Defenders:

DeAndre Yedlin – Inter Miami – 77 Caps

Walker Zimmerman – Nashville SC – 39 Caps

Aaron Long – LAFC – 31 Caps

Sergino Dest – AC Milan – 24 Caps

Matt Miazga – FC Cincinnati – 22 Caps

Shaq Moore – Nashville SC – 17 Caps

Julian Gressel – Vancouver Whitecaps – 2 Caps

Caleb Wiley – Atlanta United – 0 Caps

Joshua Wynder – Louisville City – 0 Caps

The largest position group also features two of the three players on the roster that are not on a MLS club. Wynder is a 17-year old currently playing in the USL, although I expect to see him on the move this summer after he turns 18. Dest is the only player on either roster from a senior side in Europe (Julian Araujo is on the Mexico squad and is part of the FC Barcelona B squad, despite not taking the pitch for them yet). Yedlin, Long, Moore, and Zimmerman join Dest as players on this squad that were with the team in Qatar. Gressel only became a US citizen less than six months ago, but has already suited up for interim manager Anthony Hudson twice and has an assist on his stat sheet. Wiley has scored three goals in seven appearances this season for Atlanta United and only turned 18 in December. 

Midfielders:

Kellyn Acosta – LAFC – 57 Caps

Cristian Roldan – Seattle Sounders – 32 Caps

Jackson Yuiell – San Jose Earthquakes – 16 Caps

James Sands – New York City FC – 7 Caps

Alan Sonora – Juarez – 2 Caps

Aidan Morris – Columbus Crew – 1 Cap

Nobody comes into this window in better form than Morris, who has been nothing short of great for Nashville SC of late. Acosta is still the best free kick taker in the USMNT pool, and the only player who can reasonably fit the Tyler Adams role. Roldan and Yuiell have plenty of experience but don’t get me too excited. Sonora had a quality January window with the team and plays his club soccer in Mexico, so he will have plenty of familiarity with the Mexican squad. Sands is a guy who played well enough for NYCFC to find himself on an 18-month loan with an option to buy with Scottish power Rangers, but after 24 appearances the loan was terminated on the first of March and he returned to the Big Apple. Will be very interesting to see how he bounces back. 

Forwards:

Jordan Morris – Seattle Sounders – 51 Caps

Paul Arriola – FC Dallas – 50 Caps

Jesus Ferreira – FC Dallas – 17 Caps

Brandon Vazquez – FC Cincinnati – 2 Caps

Cade Cowell – San Jose Earthquakes – 2 Caps

Morris and Arriola are the only two wingers on the squad, while the youngster Cowell can play both wing or the number nine and has looked really good in both of his appearances for the senior squad. The most interesting position “battle” is who will be the striker at the top, assuming Hudson goes with a single striker, Vazquez or Ferreira. Ferreira is the “veteran” striker of the group despite being only 22 and actually two years younger than Vazquez, but Vazquez was borderline unstoppable for Cincinnati a season ago and scored a goal in his debut. 

The lineup I anticipate seeing/thing we should see is as follows:

The toughest spot was at the top, but ultimately I went with Vazquez but I anticipate seeing him and Ferreira be subbed out for each other. 

In windows like this, I always like to see the young players get a shot, so if I were to put together my ideal starting XI in terms of entertainment value, it would look like this:

Again, Vazquez vs. Ferreira was tough, but we have seen Ferriera plenty, and Vazquez turned down Mexico to commit to the USMNT, so he definitely deserves to be there. Of course I would want to see the three teenagers on the pitch to see how they hold up against the squad’s biggest rival, and I think Celentano deserves a Cap on his stat sheet.

Picking the Ideal USMNT 26-man Roster

Picking the Ideal USMNT 26-man Roster

The United States Mens’ National Team roster for the World Cup will be revealed on November 9th, so instead of purely complaining about Gregg Berhalter’s roster decisions after the fact, I will put out my ideal 26-man roster ahead of time. This is not in any way a prediction, as we all know Tim Ream won’t make the roster despite being the captain of a team in the middle of the Premier League table, and this roster doesn’t include any of GGG’s inexplicable infatuation with Cristian Roldan, Paul Arriola, and Aaron Long. So, who do I have on the roster? Let’s start with my starting 11, and I will keep to the current USA formation of 4-3-3.

Attack:

ST: Ricardo Pepi, Groningen

LW:  Christian Pulisic, Chelsea

RW: Giovanni Reyna, Borussia Dortmund

Pulisic is the best player the USMNT has, while Reyna might be the single most talented player to ever put on the United States kit, but injuries have already been a real concern and he won’t even turn 20 until after the rooster announcement. At the top of the attack I put in Ricardo Pepi as the winner of the position most up in the air for me, more on that later. 

Midfield:

LCM: Weston McKennie, Juventus

RCM: Yunus Musah, Valencia

CDM: Tyler Adams, Leeds United

McKennie recently went down with a thigh injury but, by all reports, is expected to be 100% come November 21 when the USA take on Wales. Musah oozes talent but has been a bit inconsistent with Valencia and has yet to really show his talents translate to the USMNT, but I still have faith. There is no single player more irreplaceable to this squad than Tyler Adams as there simply is nobody in the system that does what he does. He isn’t the best player on the squad, but absolutely the most irreplaceable. 

Defense:

LB: Antonee Robinson, Fulham

LCB: Tim Ream, Fulham

RCB: Walker Zimmerman, Nashville SC

RB: Sergiño Dest, AC Milan

Jedi is the guy left back, and he would be a top LB at an elite club if he could simply cross better. His runs from the the back are deadly, they just all seem to die on his crosses at the end. Despite that, he puts pressure on the opposing defense while defending well himself. Yes, Ream is 35 and hasn’t put on the stars and stripes in more than a year, but he wears the armband for Fulham, and does so standing next to Jedi meaning no player has more chemistry and can predict the runs better than he. Zimmerman has been a steady contributor even if his last couple appearances for the national team were a bit underwhelming. Dest has bounced around after plenty of transfer speculation away from FC Barcelona this summer, he landed a loan deal to Milan, where he has barely seen time. That said, he is the best offensive wing back and is a no-brainer to get the start. 

GK: Matt Turner, Arsenal

There has long been plenty of back and forth as to who deserves the #1 for GGG, but that seems to have been put to rest with Turner now playing for Arsenal and looking solid there. He seems to be the clear cut man at keeper for this squad. That said, he has been out the past two matches, a return Thursday would be a very good sign.

There are going to be 15 available substitutes this year, so here are my backups who should be on the roster and what position(s) they can play. 

Attack:

LW/RW: Brenden Aaronson, Leeds United

RW: Timothy Weah, Lille

ST: Jesus Ferreira, FC Dallas

ST: Jordan Pefok Siebatcheu, Union Berlin

Aaronson is a guy I have a love/hate relationship with as I absolutely love his motor, but he feels so unpolished. There is growing sentiment for him to be a starter, but his energy, off the bench, in a climate like Qatar, that could be a genuine game changer. Weah is another guy who one could easily argue to start, and I wouldn’t be against it if Reyna moves back to midfield in place of Musah and Weah gets the start up top, but I can’t trust Reyna to go 90 in every match for an entire tournament. Having Weah available as a sub will be massive. Ferreira will likely be the 9 for this squad, but he plays more like a 10, and you can’t 0-0 draw your way into the knockout round, so I like him better off the bench, especially if the USA has a lead. Pefok has the second most combination of goals and assists on the team currently atop the Bundesliga, need I say more?

Midfield:

CM: Luca de la Torre, Celta Vigo

CM: Malik Tillman, Rangers

CM/LW/RW: Djordje Mihailovic, CF Montreal

CDM: Kellyn Acosta, LAFC

There is some availability concern for LDLT as it was announced he has a muscle tear and is out three weeks, that was 25 days before the Wales match, but I am choosing to be optimistic. If you want to feel good about what Tillman can bring, watch him weave through the Motherwell defense. If you don’t want to feel good about him, go watch all his UCL appearances outside of the one against Napoli. Mihailovic will be heading to AZ come January 1, and he is not in the MLS camp which means he will not be on the club, but he had the best MLS season of any American not named Brandon Vasquez. Accosta is probably the single best free kick taker on the squad, so he is an excellent option as a late sub with a lead as he is defensive focused in midfield, but also in need of a goal as he seems to be the only player capable of getting good ball into the box on a set piece. 

Defense:

LB/RB: Joe Scally, Borussia Monchengladbach

RB: DeAndre Yedlin, Inter Miami

RB/CB: Reggie Cannon, Boavista

CB: Cameron Carter-Vickers, Celtic

CB: Chris Richards, Crystal Palace

Scally might be the second best overall wing back, better than Jedi, but he can play both the left and right so he is an easy option to be one of the primary subs in this tournament. Yedlin will likely be the only player to make GGG’s final roster with any World Cup experience and technically would be here too, although Ream was on the roster in 2014, he did not get on the pitch at any point. Bringing that experience is huge, plus he has as feisty an approach as anyone, which certainly has its place. Cannon has looked good for Boavista, and has even seen minimal time at center back, so he brings versatility to the back line the squad really lacks. CCV and Chris Richards are both guys who have looked solid and could easily be the starting CB duo in a position group that is as interchangeable as there is outside of the 9 on this roster. Richards is still a week or so away from training, so he is yet another player with injury concerns as the roster deadline approaches.

Goalkeeper:

Ethan Horvath, Luton Town

Zack Steffen, Middlesbrough

Horvath has six clean sheets in the Championship while Steffen has been busy in goal with a questionable defense in front of him in Middlesbrough. Steffen was once the answer as the future GK for the club, but he very well may be number three at the end of the month. 

This is a roster I don’t think struggles to get out of the group and, depending on draw, could get a win or two in the knockout round. It is also a team who has struggled to but the ball in the back of the net, so that 0-0 draw through the group mentioned earlier is also within the realm of possibilities and missing the knockout round is possible. Overall, the expectation is getting out of the group, with winning the group the likely target and, frankly, I wouldn’t be satisfied without a trip to the quarterfinals.

NFL Week 5 DFS Lineups

As we get The Stain back running with more consistent content, why not try to make our readers some money. Here is my FanDuel and DraftKings lineups for today:

These are tournament plays going with a couple flyers. Cowboys D should get plenty of sacks against the Rams, Zappe is facing possibly the worst D in football. Teddy B I expect to put up massive numbers too.

First Reactions to USA’s World Cup Draw

The World Cup draw is officially behind us, the United States is in the World Cup after missing out four years ago, so how did the USA do in terms of the draw?

There was some hope the USA would be drawn in group G or H so they could open their run on Thanksgiving Day, but they land in Group B, which is the second best schedule hopes as they will begin their run on the first day of the World Cup and get game two on a day most Americans will have off, the day after Thanksgiving.

One tough part of the draw is landing with the European Playoff, so the final member of the group won’t be decided until June.

That first match on Monday, November 21 will be against one of Wales, Scotland, and Ukraine. The most favorable matchup of the group is Scotland, Wales is the best team with the best player in Gareth Bale, but Ukraine could be an interesting opponent as the world (sans-Russia) will be pulling for them given what the country is going through. Realistically, this should be three points for the USA, although a matchup with Wales and Gareth Bale could be problematic.

Match two will be Friday, November 25th against arguably the biggest rival outside of CONCACAF the USA has, England. The last time they faced each other in the World Cup English keeper Robert Green botched a save on an easy shot from Clint Dempsey and the match ended level 1-1. This has all the makings for an incredible watch, as England will certainly be favored, but are by no means a lock to beat the USA. The hope in this match would be for the Americans to lock in a point, but three points are possible as is zero. This will likely be the match that determines the group winner.

The final match of the group stage may be the most favorable matchup in Iran, although history isn’t favorable. The USA and Iran have only faced off twice before, drawing a friendly in 2000 and losing 2-1 in the 1998 World Cup. That said, the best player on Iran is arguably Sardar Azmoun, the forward who recently moved to Bayern Leverkusen. Azmoun has scored 40 goals in 62 appearances for his country and scored 52 goals in 79 matches for Zenit Saint Petersburg. He will be the main focus, but three points for the USA is a must in this matchup.

Assuming USA get through the group stage, being in Group B is a big benefit, as the first knockout round is against Group A, possibly the weakest group in the 2022 World Cup. Qatar and Ecuador will open the World Cup, but neither are truly expected to get out of the group. Therefore the knockout round matchup will most likely be against Senegal or the Netherlands depending on seeding.

Winning Group B is not the most likely outcome, runners-up is most likely, but winning the group could be huge for the USA. Chances are Netherlands wins Group A, a matchup the USA would like to avoid as Senegal would be the preferred matchup. Yes, Sadio Mane can single-handedly end anyone’s run in December, but the rest of the roster simply doesn’t have the depth of Netherlands.

The expectations on USA should be high given the draw. Not getting out of the group stage will be seen as absolute failure by the club. From there any success in the knockout stages will be positive, although a loss in the first knockout game won’t be a negative for the club. That said, a trip to the quarterfinals is something that is certainly not out of the club’s reach.  

USMNT Depth Chart Refresh

A quick refresh to the USMNT depth chart that now reflects a couple moves that become official January 1. There will be a more in-depth update following the late-January to early-February international break.

No real changes to the CF position, all eyes on Pepi to see where he lands in this winter transfer window, with all signs pointing to joining John Brooks at Wolfsburg. Dike also could be on the move, multiple teams in England reportedly have reached out for a loan, but Orlando City seems to be set on a transfer or nothing.

Cole Bassett has been added to the LW FTF as he made his senior team debut against Bosnia & Herzegovina, scoring the winner in the match. He is still just 20 so leaving him as a future option until he makes an appearance in a non-friendly.  I also updated Yaya Toure’s name to his given name of Dantouma as he seems to be using that more as he makes the European tryout tour. He could be on the move this January.

Moved Jordan Morris from LW to RW as he can play either side competently but there just isn’t the same depth on the right. He looked good in his return to the USMNT, making numerous impressive runs against B&H. I have also moved Gioacchini ahead of Arriola as his performance in France is deserving of a boost. Cowell also made his debut against B&H, making some quality runs but showing his youth too as he gave the ball away too easily.

Caden Clark should be ending his loan with NYRB and heading to Germany to join Tyler Adams at Leipzig. Getting run there will quickly make him a must use for the USMNT and the FTF tag could fall off soon. The big news is the addition of Richard Ledezma who is finally back from his ACL tear and starting to get run again. Would not be surprised to see him get a call up in the next international break.

No changes to the RCMs, although Sebastian Lletget’s run with the LA Galaxy has ended with 158 appearances signing with the New England Revolution.

Johnny Cardoso was impressive in his return to the senior team. He didn’t have any real impact moments, but he may have been the most impressive starter in the match against B&H. Tanner Tessmann could be moving up here soon. He is getting plenty of run with Venezia playing alongside Gianluca Busio, which could help him get more run with the national team. Taylor Booth is added as a FTF here, although I am not sold on the position. He could be CDM, he could be the RCM, he has seen time at right wing and right back. Basically, I liken him to a utility infielder in baseball, can play wherever you need him to and be serviceable.

There aren’t any changes here….yet. George Bello got the start and, as much as I want him to be a thing, he just isn’t there. Meanwhile, Jonathan Gomez is finally making his move to Spain after becoming the first ever USL Championship player to see action with the senior team. It was his work and skill that led to the Bassett goal and I fully expect to drop the FTF tag very soon.

Added Brooks Lennon after he looked solid in his senior team debut, although he was a bit all over the place and Johnny regularly had to fall back to fill into the hole left by him. Bryan Reynolds got the call up which was good to see, but he is still seemingly a forgotten man at Roma. I also updated Shaq Moore as Tenerife is not in La Liga, but LaLiga 2.

A couple changes to the LCB as Henry Kessler looked good and has made the list while Kobi Henry getting the call up, despite not playing, makes him worthy of a FTF tag.

Possibly the most notable change is Walker Zimmerman jumping ahead of John Brooks. Quite frankly, Zimmerman has looked really good for the USMNT while Brooks has struggled with Wolfsburg and appears to have lost a step. This is a battle that is worth watching between now and November.

Couple changes at keeper, although the main focus will be the number one, a battle may have opened up for the third keeper to make the WC roster. Horvath has been riding the pine quite a bit for Nottingham Forest while Sean Johnson just helped NYCFC to the MLS Cup, including surviving multiple trips to PKs. John Pulskamp was called up to the national team but didn’t dress, so he is added as a FTF as he is worth keeping an eye on.

USMNT Depth Chart: Central Defense & GK

The center of the defense is the last line of defense, the USMNT has long had big bodies back there from Alexi Lalas, to Oguchi Onyewu, to John Brooks, and goalkeeper has long been one of the biggest strengths of the team, but it might the center of the back line/GK just might be the biggest weakness of today’s USMNT.

Summary: Before this summer, Miles Robinson was just another name among the center backs for the USMNT, but the Gold Cup changed all that. He played every minute of the tournament and came through with the extra time cup winning header. He has been a staple in the lineup for the World Cup qualifiers until a second yellow vs. Mexico landed him with a one match ban vs. Jamaica. McKenzie can play either center back spot, but he is best as depth at the LCB and can even fill in at LB in a pinch. Richards was the name many USMNT fans were keeping an eye on to make the jump from prospect to the starting man, but Robinson’s ascension but a hold on that. One could argue for Richards ahead of McKenzie, and I think he will leap from him come next summer/fall, but for now he is the third guy for me. Miazga and Ream aren’t real factors currently, but Miazga has made 22 appearances with the national team, while Ream has been on the squad during WCQ and plays next to Antonee Robinson with Fulham, so the familiarity combined with experience could work in Ream’s favor.

Summary: Brooks has been the rock for this club for a number of years not, but he has looked a step slow with Wolfsburg, especially in European competition, and Zimmerman just put together the best international break of his career. While this position seemed to be as much of a sure thing as Pulisic being a starter, there is now real questions as to who the best option is. Long is very much a similar case to Tim Ream as both are veterans of the USMNT despite not really having much of an impact in recent memory. Che may be best suited to be a right back, but there are already so many quality options there I had to include him as a FTF at right center back. He may have been the best player on the pitch for the U20s in Mexico on this break and may not be for the “future” for long. He was on the roster for the Gold Cup just didn’t see any playing time. I could see that changing come late qualifying.

Summary: There may not be a more competitive battle for the number one, literally and figuratively, than the battle between Steffen and Turner for the starting keeper. Turner is the starting keeper for the best team in MLS, while Steffen struggles to get playing time with Manchester City. The lack of playing time was what had Turner with the slight edge, but Steffen hot his chance in a Carbao Cup match and came up big in PKs, then had a very good showing this break, so the needle may be leaning slightly in his direction now. Horvath and Johnson have both seen time as the third option recently with Johnson again a MLS starter, Horvath was recently a Champions League keeper with Brugge, but really battled with Simon Mignolet for time, so he is now in the Championship. Guzan is the old vet and there is definitely a value to having that as an option, and he saw time with the first team this past summer, as did Hamid, although neither have received a call during qualifying. Don’t let the goals against in the Revelations Cup fool you, the center backs let him down in that tournament, he actually looked good despite the score lines. He may be the main starter with Chicago come next season, and I would expect him to get some interest from European clubs at that point. Odunze was a surprise inclusion back in November of 2020, but when you have a guy with that much promise and is eligible for the USA, England, Canada, and Nigeria, you need to stay on good terms with him. He does not actually have a senior appearance at either the club or international level, but he is a freak in terms of size, 6’7”, and is under contract with Leicester City currently playing for their youth club.