Who has been Major League Soccer’s best goalkeeper in 2017?
Plain, objective numbers suggest — no, more like scream — that the answer is Tim Melia.
At the forefront, Sporting Kansas City’s goalkeeper leads MLS with nine shutouts and a 78.9 save percentage (among players with at least two appearances). His 0.70 goals against average ranks second, trailing only Chicago’s Matt Lampson — who has played 11 games compared to Melia’s 20.
The obvious argument against these metrics is that Melia faces a low volume of shots thanks to the stingy group of field players in front of him.