Why Sebastian Giovinco is a must-have in MLS Fantasy Soccer Manager in 2016

Sebastian Giovinco’s $11.5 million starting fantasy salary, tied for the highest in the fantasy league with Didier Drogba and Robbie Keane, may seem like a whole lot to spend on one player, especially considering Toronto FC play their first eight matches away from BMO Field.

However, Giovinco’s final score last season was 43 points more than any other active 2016 player, and the scoring changes that I highlighted last week only increase his 2015 fantasy numbers.

Where did the increased points come from?

Two new scoring categories for this season will have a positive impact on Giovinco’s score this year: “Fouls Suffered” and “Shots Taken.” Even if teams are able to keep him from scoring goals, either by playing aggressively or successfully defending his shots, he will still bring in consistent points for fantasy managers.

Giovinco led the league in 2015 for the number of fouls suffered against him with 90 fouls. In 10 games last season, he would have earned an additional point for the amount of times he drew a foul from his opponents.

Giovinco also lead the league in shots taken, averaging almost one shot more per 90 minutes than any other player. He would have received an additional 31 fantasy points solely for his high volume of attempts, which translates to nearly one point per game on top of the already outstanding scores he provided last season.

But is he really worth $11.5 million?

In case you’re still having doubts about spending $11.5m on a single fantasy player, let’s take a look at how much production you’ll get for your fantasy money. If we take the number of points each player averaged in 2015 per 90 minutes, apply the new 2016 rules to it, and then divide that number by the player’s new MLS Fantasy salary, we can see how many points you’ll expect to get per match for each million dollars spent on that player.

Let’s take a look at the top five scorers in 2015, along with Matt Hedges, the highest-scoring defender:

Giovinco earns more points per dollar than any other player, and is worth every bit of the $11.5m price. There is no doubt that he should be in your squad this season and it looks like most players have already taken this advice, as the Italian is currently owned by 66.7% of teams.

Are you going to tempt fate and leave Seba off your roster? Good luck this weekend!