Four months ago, you can bet New York City would've found themselves in a less favorable position in these rankings.

Then Alonso Martinez went supernova.

The 26-year-old Costa Rican has scored 10 goals in his last 13 MLS games, answering one of the questions that had defined NYCFC since Taty Castellanos moved to Europe: who would put the ball in the back of the net? Nick Cushing has that striker right now. Will Martinez's heater continue? And can Cushing's control games with such a young squad? According to FBref, New York City FC is the second-youngest team in MLS, with an average age of 25.3 weighted by minutes placed.