Racing Louisville has started the 2023 season with back-to-back draws. Savannah DeMelo, 2022’s Fantasy Rookie of the Year (unofficially), hasn’t yet logged a goal or assist – but still has racked up 18 fantasy points. Last year, she scored 15% of Louisville’s total fantasy points (for reference, Mallory Swanson and McCall Zerboni were the only other players that scored over 11% of their teams’ fantasy points).
There are a lot of new faces in Louisville this season, and DeMelo hasn’t dominated quite to the same extent, but is still likely to be by far Racing’s most valuable goal-scorer. The combination of Carson Pickett and Abby Erceg appears to have significantly solidified Racing’s defense (only 2 goals conceded), and this should only benefit DeMelo as the offense comes together. The arrival of Ary Borges at center mid may slightly cut into DeMelo’s chances, but so far she still has by far the most FNWSL upside due to her potential for both goals and assists, and the fact that she is a virtual lock for 90 minutes every week. No other MF or FW has played all 180 minutes for Louisville so far, giving DeMelo one of the highest floors for fantasy points in the NWSL.