2024 Round 15 DiffeRANCHals

Every week, I’m going to go over my suggestions from last week, and determine if they were a good or bad pick based on position and points. To describe in detail the ranking system, here is the metric: bust = 3 or fewer points (or not starting/on the bench), average = 4-5 points, good = 6-8 points, great = 9+ points. Players not available for selection I am disregarding and not counting as a positive or negative in the article.

DGW Scoring: Bust = 6 or fewer, Average = 7-9, Good = 10-12, Great = 13+

Week 14 Final Results: 

Matt:

• Tomas Totland – Good (7 points)
• Gabriel Pec – Great (11 points)

Brandon:

• Dany Rosero – Bust (2 points)
• Rafael Navarro – Good (7 point)

Ranch:

• Erik Thommy – Bust (1 points)
• ​​Cristian Olivera – Average (4 points)

2024 Full Season Results: 12 Great, 11 Good, 16 Average, 49 Busts

Matt Results: 3 Great, 3 Good, 6 Average, 19 Bust

Brandon Results: 5 Great, 2 Good, 6 Average, 16 Bust

Ranch Results: 4 Great, 6 Good, 4 Average, 14 Bust

 

Welcome back to week 15 of the diffeRANCHals article! Time for another massive DGW! As always, we will be taking a look at players who you may not consider initially, or maybe you do! Differentials are the fun part of FMLS, why go chalk when you can go a bunch of differentials? If you recall, last DGW Brandon picked Carlos Andres Gomez, who ended up being one of the top scorers on the week. Who will it be this week?

Brandon: Noah Eile, $6.2m (Defender – NYRB)

A popular team choice this week, I’m going with an option at the back to lead us off, rather than one of the big two midfield with the Swedish center-back. With a tendency to pick up passing points over other options at the back like the Nealis brothers (note, Sean is suspended for the first match this week after picking up a red card last time out at NYCFC) and being up against at least one team that rack up clearances themselves in Charlotte, Eile may be the best option that will play 180’ and pick up a few extra points.

Ranch: Adilson Malanda, $8.2m (Defender – Charlotte)

This week feels so weird for defenses. For me, it feels like trusting Charlotte’s defense one more time. Malanda is the pick for me this week, as he was the hero way back in week 1. Maybe he can repeat the results of a goal and clean sheet? It’s a dice roll for me, but with some stats behind it. Charlotte has 5 clean sheets in a row. Although they do have 2 away matches this week, I do think that they have a non-zero chance of 1 or 2 clean sheets this week.

Matt: Robin Lod, $11.5m (Midfielder – Minnesota)

Minnesota is nowhere near where I expected them to be when I learned Reynoso was going to be playing hooky for the season again. But sitting in 2nd place in the West, I should be taking them more seriously. We have said it a few times so far this season, but without Reynoso, their main man has become Robin Lod. While their first matchup at LAFC is not one to be that excited about, hosting a struggling SKC on the weekend should be one to target. Minnesota has yet to be shut out at home this season and when Minnesota hosted SKC back in Week 10, Lod ended on a 7.

Brandon: Jeong Sang-Bin, $7.5m (Midfielder – Minnesota)

Double-dipping on Loons this week, Jeong, who seems to be the more favored wing option and has lined up in more advanced positions recently under Eric Ramsay, is our second pick in the midfield. Bringing back another trend from last week, riding the hot hand — the South Korean nabbed a brace last week in just an hour of play. Imagine what Jeong could do this week against an SKC midfield missing several key pieces.

Matt: Jonathan Rodriguez, $10.1m (Forward – Portland)

Was I really high on JRod last week? Yes. Did he miss a big chance and end on a 3? … yep. But that was last week. Historically Portland has been awful in Texas, so his first matchup against Austin isn’t one I’d want to target alone. But Portland has loved to score goals at home this season, averaging 2.29 goals per match, and has yet to be kept out of the net. Rodriguez is consistently putting himself in good positions and should have chances to score well against Houston. And while I’m negative about their chances in their first match, Austin is nothing close to a defensive powerhouse so I could easily see Rodrigues sneaking one in.

Ranch: Gabriel Pec, $10.7m (Forward – LA Galaxy)

I am going to run it back another week, while stealing a pick from Matt. To be honest, though, Pec is a player that I talked about a decent amount of times on the podcast. Looking at the matchups for the Galaxy, Pec gets to play at home against Dallas, then he packs up his bags and boards the plane to Chicago. Both of these are matchups that the Galaxy should theoretically win every time. Pec has been in form over his last 8 games, with an average floor of 4 and a ceiling of (currently) 12, I see a lot of potential this week.