MLS does not have a Most Improved Player award, but every year, players emerge as stars or quintessential role players who would be deserving of such an honor. Last year, the Dynamo’s Mauro Manotas easily set a career high in goals and became the lone bright spot on a disappointing team. D.C. United’s Luciano Acosta grew into a legitimate superstar after Wayne Rooney’s arrival.

Predicting which players will show similar improvement is difficult. Here, we’ll try and identify potential candidates. To qualify for this list, players have to have played at least one prior MLS season and received legitimate minutes.

Marlon Hairston | Houston Dynamo

The Dynamo’s playing style could be in flux—after success in 2017 as a counterattacking team, Wilmer Cabrera emphasized more midfield possession and pressing in 2018, to mostly poor results. With the Concacaf Champions League games coming after last year’s U.S. Open Cup win, Houston could revert back to their 2017 style.

As long as Alberth Elis and Romell Quioto lead the front line, that could be the move. Hairston, acquired this offseason from Colorado, fits the counterattacking profile; he’s a fast, overlapping fullback/midfield tweener still trying to prove he can stick as an everyday MLS starter. 

Houston’s defensive struggles could open a job for him at right back, though he is listed as a midfielder on the Dynamo’s roster page. A.J. DeLaGarza could start the season as a center back, allowing Cabrera to trust a more attacking option who can support the front three and venture up and down the touchline. Given that Kevin Garcia wound up receiving minutes at right back last season, Hairston should at least be considered.

If the Dynamo end up shifting to a three-at-the-back, Hairston is the perfect wing-back, provided he shows the defensive and on-ball chops to stick around. Despite significant minutes in Colorado, he feels a bit like an unknown commodity, fitting for a team with a lot of unknowns.

Ken Krolicki | Montreal Impact

Montreal quietly have significant stakes heading into this season: This could be their last run with Ignacio Piatti, who has been a superstar in MLS for nearly a half-decade and has said 2019 will be his last season in Montreal. He has since reneged on the conclusiveness of his earlier statements, but the Impact have to win now with their star. It is not easy to find another Piatti.

Krolicki’s development could be crucial. Remi Garde’s Impact spent much of last season attacking on the counter and trying to free Piatti into space. A midfield three of Samuel Piette, Saphir Taider and Krolicki would defend hard and cover ground. Piette is a windshield wiper in front of a creaky backline. Taider is a box-to-box bulldog. Krolicki adds to Taider’s work rate.

If Krolicki becomes a plus as an on-ball passer, it could help Montreal grow into a more versatile team and maximize consistent counterattacks. He should get the playing time.

Jackson Yueill | San Jose Earthquakes

With Matias Almeyda at the helm, Earthquakes fans can only hope that he will put together a coherent system in which San Jose can both defend and attack. That has not been as simple as it sounds for the Quakes.

Yueill, who turns 22 in March, is a ball-moving central midfielder who can excel in a system that emphasizes possession, if he ever had the chance to experience one. Almeyda should give Yueill the opportunity to dictate play alongside a player who can cover ground and defend. 

San Jose’s lack of offseason moves is a bit concerning, but there has always been some talent on this team. They’ve been dragged down by incompetent management and a few ill-advised signings. Finally getting Yueill, Tommy Thompson and JT Marcinkowski (among others) into consistent roles would go a long way towards reversing the Quakes’ fortunes. 

Harrison Hamm is a sportswriter who covers American soccer and MLS for FloFC. He also covers sports for FanSided and The Comeback, and has freelanced for the Washington Post.