If we’re picking Major League Soccer’s Rookie of the Year Matchup, it’s no race at all. In fact, it’s a shellacking; it’s Seattle’s DeAndre Yedlin vs. the LA Galaxy’s Gyasi Zardes, a one-on-one battle that played out wonderfully last week in the teams’ 1-1 draw.
Anyone else think we might be watching that little flank skirmish play out again and again over the next few years – until one of them flies the MLS coop for a more lucrative scratching ground, at least?
But we’re not talking about Rookie of the Year Matchups – who has ever heard of such a thing?
We are still dealing with regular ol’ Rookie of the Year in MLS, and that takes us right back to the same Rapids we’ve talked about for months. Zardes and Yedlin (pictured, in the center) are still hanging in there, but still behind …
Our current frontrunners …
1. Colorado Rapids midfielder Dillon Powers:
If you consider that Powers is essentially keeping Martin Rivero off the field – it’s a little complicated, all depending on how Oscar Pareja configures his midfield, but the bottom line is that Powers is starting and Rivero is mostly in reserve – that is a huge argument in his corner. Rivero was The Man for the Rapids in preseason, the hub of things at DSG Park.
Powers has four goals and five assists, which aren’t numbers that jump off the page, but are pretty outstanding when you consider that he plays frequently as a holding midfielder.
2. Colorado Rapids forward Deshorn Brown:
It has been interesting to watch as Pareja has managed the rookie forward’s minutes, bringing him off the bench lately. That’s going to dent his Rookie of the Year chances, but the Rapids’ manager probably doesn’t care much about that. Sure, it would be nice if Brown earned Rookie of the Year, and Pareja would be rightly proud.
Then again, that’s not the manager’s main mission. Rather, it’s to get the best from Brown as it relates to the club, and to the club’s playoff pursuits in November (not just the short-term bid to get there). And Pareja’s job is to properly oversee a young player’s best interest, not subjecting him to over-use and the scourge of the so-called “rookie wall.”
Brown has not scored in almost a month, but he remains the team’s leading scorer with seven goals and four assists.
Also in the running: Seattle’s DeAndre Yedlin, New England’s Andrew Farrell, LA Galaxy’s Gyasi Zardes.
