Top Union Players Fall, Lower Players Rise In Second Edition Of MLS Castrol Index

MLS released its second ever Castrol Index today and the Philadelphia Union saw their top players take a hit in the rankings this time around, but the lower players got a boost from increased minutes and improved play since the first Index.

In the first edition of the Castrol Index, the Union had five players in the top 50 of the Index, with the entire defense (Jordan Harvey, Danny Califf, Carlos Valdes and Sheanon Williams) and goalkeeper Faryd Mondragon placing highly. The team also had another three players in the top 150 (Stefani Miglioranzi, Carlos Ruiz and Sebastien Le Toux), with one of those three in the top 100 (Miglioranzi at 94). Rounding out the team were 10 other players in the top 350 (Keon Daniel at 183, Brian Carroll at 195, Amobi Okugo at 197, Kyle Nakazawa at 199, Danny Mwanga at 238, Roger Torres at 259, Justin Mapp at 265, Michael Farfan at 315, Jack McInerney at 330 and Gabriel Farfan at 339).

The second time around had mixed results for the Union. While players like Carroll (up to 127), Mwanga (up to 141) and Mapp (up to 202) all had large jumps in the rankings, the defense and Mondragon all took steps backward. Califf fell to 13, Valdes to 37, Harvey to 79, Williams to 83 and Mondragon to 124. Additionally, Miglioranzi dropped by a large amount, going from 94 to 207.

After the jump, the entire Union list for the second edition of the Castrol Index.