Ethan Finlay's remarkable season

Columbus Crew midfielder Ethan Finlay is emerging as an MLS Best XI candidate this season, and he might not look so bad wearing a U.S. jersey.

On Wednesday night Finlay picked up his league-leading ninth assist, creating the winning goal in a 2-1 defeat of New England. On Saturday night, the Wisconsin native scored his third goal of the season (he has four in all competitions) in a 2-2 draw against Real Salt Lake.

Though born in the United States, Finlay is also eligible to play for Canada—making him a different sort of dual national. For all the lamenting over the losses of some dual nationals with minimal U.S ties, it would be a bigger loss if the United States failed to secure the services of a player it actually developed.

Finlay has skills the U.S truly needs. He has speed and he's a natural winger who can cross and pass very well. Players who currently line up in wide positions for the U.S. include Gyasi Zardes and Alejandro Bedoya—but neither are natural wingers like Finlay. 

Is the 24-year-old a finished product? Not yet. But as this season shows he is making steady progress.

Sebastian Lletget is a shrewd pick up

Bruce Arena may have found himself another low-cost gem.

Sebastian Lletget, 22, came up through West Ham United's vaunted youth system and was a star for the club's under-21 team. He made the bench occasionally in Premier League games but never broke through to the top level. The San Francisco native has returned to the states and is making a positive impact for the Los Angeles Galaxy.

On Wednesday the Galaxy thoroughly dismantled Portland, 5-0, with Lletget scoring the opening goal and drawing a penalty for the second. He looked dynamic in the attack, and if he can build on this performance it will be another feather in Arena's cap.

The former U.S. national team coach has built a soccer dynasty on his ability to identify low-priced talent and integrate into a team that always has a few high-priced stars. This fantastic homegrown signings like Jose Villarreal and Gyasi Zardes; smart draft picks; and bringing back American players from lower leagues in Europe like Lletget and Baggio Husidic

And in case you forgot, Liverpool icon Steven Gerrard will be joining the team in a few weeks.

Colorado’s dismal run

Colorado is by far the worst team in MLS right now and there is little going right for the team. Yes, Chicago is also bad but at least there are some young, promising midfielders on the Fire. Aside from occasional flashes of talent from Dillon Serna, there is little reason to watch the Rapids.

Consider this: Colorado has won just two of its last 31 MLS games. At this point, serious questions should be asked about head coach Pablo Mastroeni and the direction of the team. The former U.S. national team midfielder has won just 10 out of his 51 MLS games as coach

Mastroeni was given the job with zero experience, and really was not set up to succeed. He had no other qualification other than being a likable former player. That doesn’t mean he couldn’t be effective in the future, but as of now he—along with a front office that must share the blame—has a dull squad that is painful to watch.

New York is Red

Now that two New York Derbies are in the books, we can begin to draw some conclusions.

First off, Don Garber was right: This rivalry has amazing potential.

Second, the Red Bulls own the Big Apple—at least for the moment.

Despite some dreary weather, nearly 50,000 people attended Sunday’s game at Yankee Stadium, and the energy was electric. When New York City FC scored the game’s first goal in the opening minutes, the stadium was bouncing. When the Red Bulls responded with multiple goals in the second half, its supporters responded with emotion that made it clear that this rivalry is important and relevant.

As for the quality difference between the two teams, it is pretty wide right now. The Red Bulls have won both games convincingly. Red Bulls midfielder Sacha Kljestan is outplaying his NYCFC counterpart Mix Diskerud right now. Bradley Wright-Phillips is matching the high-priced David Villa in terms of production.

The Red Bulls have one of the hottest American prospects right now in Matt Miazga whose stock is soaring. After a stellar U-20 World Cup, Miazga played his best game of the season on Sunday, neutralizing Villa and scoring his first career goal.

You've got to believe that NYCFC will demonstrate marked improvement when Frank Lampard and Andrea Pirlo arrive in the Bronx. But right now the team’s supporting cast is underperforming and even with the expensive imports on the way, the Red Bulls look to be a more organized group.

New England in trouble

A trendy preseason pick for the top spot in the Eastern Conference, the New England Revolution are now on a downward spiral.

The injury to Jermaine Jones is certainly a key factor, but Jay Heaps' team has been struggling for a while now. The 204 MLS Cup finalists have won just once in its last 10 games and has lost four out of five.

Those losses have all come against playoff contenders—Portland, D.C. United, Columbus, and most recently a 2-1 home loss to the surging Vancouver Whitecaps. Striker Juan Agudelo has not looked like himself in recent weeks and there have been key defensive breakdowns at bad times.

It doesn't get any easier for Heaps' men: the club's next two games are against quality teams in FC Dallas and the Red Bulls.

Star power carrying Toronto

Will Toronto FC finally qualify for the MLS playoffs this season?

It hasn't been smooth this season but there are signs that the team is starting to turn the corner. On Wednesday night, Toronto came from behind to defeat an improving Montreal Impact, 2-1. Four days later Toronto played to a scoreless draw against league-leading D.C. United in a well-played contest it could have won.

The problem for Toronto, of course, is depth. The team's three big stars—Jozy Altidore, Michael Bradley, and Sebastian Giovinco—are lethal attackers but can Greg Vanney get production from anyone else on the team? And with so much of the team's resources dedicated to offense, the defense is likely to struggle in the weeks and months ahead.

Further complicating matters, Altidore and Bradley could miss nearly a month's worth of MLS games during the Gold Cup (and a July 3 warmup against Guatemala).

How will Toronto compete without two-thirds of its core? Where will the team be in the standings when the two Yanks return to Ontario?

Young Yanks earning minutes

Several young American players are beginning to earn quality minutes in Major League Soccer—encouraging news for U.S. national team supporters.

• Marco Delgado just returned to Toronto after starting for the U.S U-20 team at the World Cup in New Zealand. (He filled in for the injured Russell Canouse as the team’s defensive midfielder.) Delgado started each of Toronto’s last two games, playing well and helping the club's leaky defense concede just one goal over 180 minutes.
  
  
• Zach Pfeffer, 20, continues to start for a Philadelphia taht has played well lately after a disappointing start to the season. Philadelphia defeated an injury-depleted Seattle on Wednesday and played to a hard-fought 2-2 draw against Montreal on Saturday night.
  
  
• For Seattle, Cristian Roldan once again saw significant minutes and has shown enough talent to make many fans wonder how he did not make the recent U.S. U-20 World Cup team. Either way, he could very well play himself into contention for the U.S. U-23 Olympic team—and with Clint Dempsey missing time due to suspension and the Gold Cup, minutes will be easier to come by for the 20-year-old.
  
  
• U.S. U-20 World Cup midfielder Jordan Allen has had an uneven season but still continues t. Just prior to the World Cup, he turned in some very solid performances but on Saturday he picked up a red card. Justin Glad, 18, has also made a series of starts due to injuries to Salt Lake’s central defense. That should give him a running start heading into the next U-20 cycle.
  
  
• Bradford Jamieson should continue to play for the Galaxy when he returns from his concussion and Tommy Thompson is seeing his minutes increase with San Jose as well.
  
  
• For Real Salt Lake, U.S. U-20 World Cup midfielder Jordan Allen has had an uneven season but still continues to see action. On Saturday, however, he picked up a red card and will miss the next contest. Justen Glad, 18, has also made a series of starts due to injuries on RSL's backline. 

Brian Sciaretta is an American Soccer Now columnist and an ASN 100 panelist. Follow him on Twitter.