2019 MLS SuperDraft 1st-round grades
It was an eventful day at McCormick Place in downtown Chicago for the annual MLS SuperDraft filled with the usual excitement and unexpected turns this event typically consists of. College soccer’s top players waited patiently to hear their name called by commissioner Don Garber with their hopes of a career in professional soccer hanging in the balance.
Here are my grades for every pick in the first round of the 2019 MLS SuperDraft:
1. FC Cincinnati – M Frankie Amaya, UCLA
FC Cincy gets the best player in the draft by selecting crafty and technical midfielder Frankie Amaya. The U.S. U-20 international was very impressive against Mexico in the U-20 CONCACAF final, holding his own against some of Liga MX’s top prospects and was the youngest player in the draft at only 18. It’ll be unclear what his role is with FC Cincy this upcoming season, especially since he will likely be missing a big chunk of the early portion of the year to go to the U-20 World Cup in Poland, but there is no question there is great value to this pick and I would not be surprised if Amaya ends up a crucial part of this club’s midfield for years to come, if not sold to Europe for a sizable profit.
Grade: A
2. San Jose Earthquakes – M Siad Haji, VCU
The Quakes had plenty of options to pick from as there was no real clear consensus No. 2 pick in this draft, and opted to go with the very skilled attacking mid from VCU. Haji had tremendous production in his collegiate career scoring five goals and recording an impressive 10 assists in 18 games. Haji is a perfect example of someone who benefits from this draft process as he was playing Division 3 soccer just two years ago. Haji is ripe with potential and will be an exciting player for new head coach Matias Almeyda to work with in the future.
Grade: B+
3. Orlando City SC – F Santiago Patino, FIU
Patino, a strong, classic No. 9 striker may be viewed as a disappointing pick to some considering Orlando previously tried to sign him as a homegrown only for his homegrown status to be rejected by the league. Had that signing gone through, Orlando would have been able to select someone else with this pick, and with some of the talent available on the board at No. 3 it is understandable why Orlando City fans could be wondering “what if” in this situation. But the bottom line is Orlando got a talented player they are familiar and comfortable with, not to mention an understudy for the aging Dom Dwyer, and that should be viewed as a success.
Grade: B
4. FC Dallas – D Callum Montgomery, UNC Charlotte
Historically speaking, defenders selected in the SuperDraft have gone on to have the most success in MLS and I have a feeling this will be the case for Callum Montgomery as well. A mature, senior center back, Montgomery has been deemed very “pro ready” and was a consistent force for the UNC Charlotte backline during his four years with the program. Drawing comparisons to another first-round FC Dallas draft pick Matt Hedges, Montgomery has a realistic chance at becoming a solid starter in MLS.
Grade: A-
5. Colorado Rapids – F Andre Shinyashiki, Denver
The Colorado Rapids made the first trade of the day, shipping $100,000 worth of allocation money to the Chicago Fire for the fifth pick. The Rapids selected the Mac Hermann finalist Andre Shinyashiki from the nearby University of Denver. The Brazil native was a prolific striker in college scoring a Denver program record of 51 goals in 83 appearances. The Rapids have familiarity with Shinyashiki, as he previously played for the Rapids U-23 team in the PDL and could be a first team option off the bench for the club this upcoming 2019 season. A good pick, but having to shell out $100 grand lowers the grade of this pick in my opinion.
Grade: B+
6. Toronto FC – M Griffin Dorsey, Indiana
Griffin Dorsey was a talented winger/forward for Indiana and was crucial to their run to the College Cup semifinal this fall. Dorsey was also a member of the U.S. U-20 CONCACAF Championship team, a testament to his talent. He will likely switch to right back at the professional level as he did at the MLS Combine. This pick was a bit of a reach to me especially since there were two other Generation Adidas players available — both from the Toronto area — in Dayne St. Clair and Tajon Buchannan, who I was fully expecting TFC to pick from. But nonetheless, the Reds come away with a young prospect with speed on the wing with lots of potential which is all you can ask for in the SuperDraft.
Grade: B
7. Minnesota United FC – G Dayne St. Clair, Maryland
I like this pick a lot. The No. 7 pick in the draft covered both a need and provided high value for Minnesota United which is rare to come by nowadays in the MLS SuperDraft. St. Clair is the undisputed best GK in this draft and was fantastic in his time with Maryland. St. Clair did not allow a single goal in the College Cup tournament that ultimately led to the Terps being crowned champions. The Canadian has great athleticism and will likely be a starting goalkeeper in MLS in due time. The Loons previously only had one other GK on their roster, so in the meantime St. Clair will provide much needed depth at the position.
Grade: A
8. Houston Dynamo – D Sam Junqua, California
Sam Junqua was a surprising pick not many expected this early in the draft. Junqua was even a late invite to the combine. However, relatively unknown commodities being picked in the SuperDraft is certainly not uncommon, and Junqua did have a solid collegiate career and was an All-Pac 12 honorable mention this past season. But with four Generation Adidas players left on the board and several other higher rated outside backs also remaining, this pick to me was a head-scratcher.
Grade: D
9. New England Revolution – M Tajon Buchanan, Syracuse
One of the biggest surprises of this draft was how far Tajon Buchanan fell. Often believed to be a top-five pick, Buchanan fell right into the clutches of the Revolution who are likely very grateful for this slip. Buchanan has some of the highest potential out of every player in the SuperDraft. The young Syracuse forward has silky smooth skills and great one-v-one abilities. Buchanan did not have eye-popping productivity in college like other forwards in this draft class and is certainly still a work in progress, but nonetheless a project head coach Brad Friedel is surely excited about.
Grade: B+
10. FC Dallas – D John Nelson, North Carolina
FC Dallas’ second pick in the top 10 is a solid one. John Nelson, a Generation Adidas member, started all 41 games for the Tar Heels in his two seasons with the team and is a U.S. U-17 World Cup veteran. Nelson will be a welcomed addition to a young, rebuilding FC Dallas team.
Grade: B
11. New England Revolution – M DeJuan Jones, Michigan State
This pick is an interesting one to me due to the fact that DeJuan Jones actually has a pretty similar profile to the Revolution’s previous pick at No. 9 in Tajon Buchannan. Jones was deemed the fastest player in the 2019 SuperDraft class after finishing first in both the 30-meter dash and the agility test at the MLS Combine. Jones was an exciting attacking player with incredible pace during his time with the Spartans and will be a very interesting prospect to keep an eye on in the future with the Revolution.
Grade: B
12. New York City FC – G Luis Barraza, Marquette
Claudio Reyna dished out $75,000 to swap spots with the Galaxy for this pick and it was an unexpected one. Luis Barraza had a fantastic career at Marquette where he earned Big East Goalkeeper of the Year this past season. He is a strong shot stopper with potential to have a career in this league, but the fact that $75,000 of allocation money was given up — when NYCFC could have almost certainly been able to pick Barraza with their original 17th pick — makes this draft pick a questionable one.
Grade: C
13. FC Cincinnati – D Logan Gdula, Wake Forest
With FC Cincy’s second pick in the first round, they took highly rated right back Logan Gdula. Gdula’s athleticism and potential upside are what make this pick a solid one. Gdula started 60 games throughout his career with the Demon Deacons and recorded an impressive five assists for a defender in his senior year. Gdula will be a nice addition to the depth chart in Cincinnati.
Grade: B
14. D.C. United – D Akeem Ward, Creighton
D.C. United opted to take outside back Akeem Ward with their first-round selection. What makes Ward so valuable and a bit of a steal this late in the draft is his ability to play on both the right and left side of the field. D.C. needs depth at both right and left back so this was a nice pick for United.
Grade: A-
15. Minnesota United FC – D Chase Gasper, Maryland
Minnesota gave the Chicago Fire $50,000 in allocation money and in return were able to select Chase Gasper. Gasper is a very mature and complete defender from the national champion University of Maryland. He’ll provide nice depth at left back for MNUFC.
Grade: B+
16. New York Red Bulls – D Roy Boateng, UC Davis
The Red Bulls gave FC Cincinnati $100,000 in allocation money for their 16th and 25th picks of the draft. The Red Bulls selected no-nonsense center back Roy Boateng. Boateng was a four-year starter in college, and is a good project to work on similar to how RBNY previously developed Aaron Long in the USL.
Grade: B-
17. Real Salt Lake – M Sam Brown, Harvard
Brown, a midfield general in his time with the Crimson, is Harvard’s highest MLS SuperDraft pick ever, yet another accomplishment to add to the school’s history. Brown’s strong range of passing is what attracted RSL, but this pick seemed a little too early to me.
Grade: C+
18. Columbus Crew SC – F JJ Williams, Kentucky
JJ Williams was the last of the Generation Adidas class to be selected in this year’s draft. Williams has elite athleticism and a lot of raw talent that still needs to be developed. A goal-scoring machine with Kentucky, Williams relied heavily on his superior athleticism in his time in college; however, he’ll have to adjust his game at the professional level. Williams’ potential is very high and newly appointed president Tim Bezbatchenko and head coach Caleb Ported likely did not expect him to be available at this point in the draft, but felt that this was a project worth taking on. Williams will be a great understudy to Gyasi Zardes as this intriguing player embarks on his professional career.
Grade: B+
19. LA Galaxy – M Emil Cuello, SMU
Cuello was a very talented No. 10 for SMU. However, because the Galaxy are loaded with midfield talent at the moment, Cuello likely will feature for Los Dos in the USL Championship next season.
Grade: B-
20. Seattle Sounders – M Tucker Bone, Air Force
Tucker Bone is another talented midfielder, but there are some potential complications regarding his career due to his required Air Force service. Bone will get a chance to play for Sounders 2 next season. I would have liked to see midfielder Sergio Rivas out of nearby University of Seattle picked here instead.
Grade: C+
21. Sporting KC – D Kamar Marriott, Florida Gulf Coast
This was a very interesting pick from Peter Vermes considering Kamar Marriott was not even invited to the MLS Combine. An unknown commodity in this draft, Marriott is a 6-4 center back who will get his shot at a career in professional soccer with the Swope Park Rangers in USL Championship.
Grade: C
22. New York Red Bulls – M Janos Loebe, Fordham
The Red Bulls opted to utilize their final first round pick by selecting Jonas Loebe from nearby Fordham. Loebe, a playmaking No. 10 midfielder for the Rams, will join a New York Red Bulls II team in the USL Championship that has had a lot of success at developing players.
Grade: B-
23. Portland Timbers – F Ryan Sierakowski, Michigan State
The Western Conference Champions opted to select a No. 9 striker with a track record of scoring goals in his time playing collegiately with Michigan State. Expect Sierakowski to play a role with Timbers 2 this season.
Grade: B
24. Atlanta United FC – M Anderson Asiedu, UCLA
The first and last picks of the first round of the 2019 MLS SuperDraft were UCLA midfielders. Anderson Asiedu is a typical No. 6 defensive midfielder and really benefited from his strong performance at the MLS Combine. In fact, Asiedu was named MVP of the MLS Combine. (Yes, this award is real.) Atlanta is such a complete team that there likely won’t be a role for him in the near future, but Asiedu is certainly a name to keep an eye on as his career progresses.
Grade: B+
Follow Jack on Twitter: @JackRenwick22.
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