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Fabinho was ranked the best left back in MLS by WhoScored, a site that that focuses on in-depth statistical analysis of soccer around the world. WhoScored creates a single score that accumulates the value of all the actions a player takes, and Fabinho's season long score of 7.41 ranks 13th in MLS. Fabinho is ranked in the company of Laurent Ciman from Montreal, Benny Feilhaber from Sporting Kansas City and Obafemi Martins from Seattle. Here's a look at the entire Best XI in MLS.
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How well this should be perceived is definitely up for debate. WhoScored's ranking, while unique, is a bit of a black box. They have improved the transparency on their explanation over time but there is still very little insight as to how the score is derived. Whoscored says the following:
WhoScored Ratings Explained
WhoScored.com Ratings are considered to be the most accurate, respected and well-known performance indicators in the world of football. Our ratings are currently used among media giants, bookmakers and football clubs.
WhoScored.com Ratings are based on a unique, comprehensive statistical algorithm, calculated live during the game. There are over 200 raw statistics included in the calculation of a player's/team's rating, weighted according to their influence within the game. Every event of importance is taken into account, with a positive or negative effect on ratings weighted in relation to its area on the pitch and its outcome.
WhoScored was not alone in praising Fabinho's 2015 season, although he was far from a Best XI consideration. A competitive score from a website called Squawka ranked Fabinho fourth best on the Philadelphia Union, using a similar score. Fabinho ranked behind C.J. Sapong, Cristian Maidana and Vincent Nogueira, who were the top three on that list.
According to WhoScored, Fabinho has improved steadily since joining the Union. In 2013 he started with a scored of 6.88 and improved to 7.15 in 2014. Here is a link to stats and ratings for all of the Union players this past season.
The ranking backs up what many fans believe to true - that Fabinho had a very solid season for the Union in 2015. His relatively low salary should keep him low on the priority list of changes this off-season, but with new Sporting Director Earnie Stewart nearly in command, we'll have to wait and see what the new regime has in store for Fabinho.