MLS Fantasy Boss A Fantasy MLS Community
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 26 Final Results:
Matt:
- Richie Laryea – Average (5 points)
- Fafa Picault – Great! (10 points)
Brandon:
- Dagur Thorhallsson – Great! (10 points)
- Djordje Mihailovic – Great! (12 points)
Ranch:
- Alexei Miranchuk – Bust (2 points)
- Rafael Navarro – Great! (9 points)
2024 Full Season Results: 29 Great, 24 Good, 23 Average, 72 Busts
Matt Results: 10 Great, 5 Good, 10 Average, 25 Bust (50% non-bust)
Brandon Results: 9 Great, 9 Good, 9 Average, 22 Bust (55% non-bust)
Ranch Results: 10 Great, 10 Good, 4 Average, 24 Bust (50% non-bust)
Welcome back to week 27 of the diffeRANCHals! And what a week, week 26 was for us, with four great scores – our best single week performance yet! Looking ahead to week 27, the penultimate double gameweek of this season is up to bat with quite a slate of games… so, let’s get into our picks!
Matt:, Ryan Hollingshead $6.1m (Defender – LAFC)
LAFC has one of the best clean sheet chances this week out of all the DGW teams. Most people will be going Aaron Long as their defender pick, but if you want to make a risk for some attacking returns, go Hollingshead. He might rotate that second game, but he should be good for 120 minutes. That’s a chance for one clean sheet and plenty of attack potential in that wingback role. He’s had a few attacking returns called back for fouls/offside recently, so even if he’s not on the stat sheet, he’s getting up and capitalizing on his chances.
Ranch: Steven Moreira, $9.2m (Defender – Columbus)
It feels weird calling Columbus defense a differential, but after looking through teams in discord, it seems that is the case. This week Moreira and co. get to travel to Toronto and then return home to face Orlando. The Toronto game is more likely to have a clean sheet available, however, Orlando does seem to disappear when they travel. With Columbus being a team that knows how to defend and protect the ball, I fully expect them to get at least 1 clean sheet this week. Moreira is my choice for defenders as I feel he is the most likely to play 2 games this week. He also likes to get involved in the attack, even as a centerback.
Matt:, Carles Gil $13.9m (Midfielder – New England)
After the past few years of dominating FMLS, it is weird to have Gil as a differential. But that just shows how weird New England’s season has been. They have proven themselves as a very good attacking team on the right day, and I believe this DGW is a sneaky good set of matchups for them, hosting Montreal and going to Charlotte. The first matchup should be great for the Revs and Gil, and I would argue the second away is also nice. New England has struggled on the road but Charlotte also hasn’t kept a clean sheet at home since before Leagues Cup. Gil and co would have plenty of chances that game too.
Brandon: Ryan Gauld, $14.2m (Midfielder – Vancouver)
Now some would look at this pick and say, “doesn’t traditional FMLS wisdom state to always go with players at home, and to never take a player on a double away slate?” – and those people would probably be right. However, this is DiffeRanchials we’re talking about… aka, the place where wisdom is made up and the points don’t matte- oh, wait, no, they do. Hm. Well, as it turns out, Vancouver hold the best road record in the West, having taken more points away than at home. With two decent matchups for a Caps side looking to stay ahead in the playoff race, and five of the Scotsman’s last eight away games yielding more than 10 points each, the midfielder could be your ticket to FCL glory (or, y’know, just a better score).
Ranch: Giacomo Vrioni, $9.0m (Forward – New England)
Similar to what Matt had said about Carles Gil, Vrioni has some great matchups this week. Hosting Montreal, a team that has given up 59 goals this season, is a recipe for success with New England and Vrioni. Being the primary striker, Vrioni is getting service delivered to him from Gil, Langoni, and Borrero. Each of these guys knows how to deliver a pristine pass to either Vrioni’s head or foot. All he needs to do is finish the chances! I just know that Vrioni wants to surpass double digit goals scored, and his chance comes this game week.
Brandon: Kelvin Yeboah, $10.3m (Forward – Minnesota)
There’s a lot to like about Minnesota’s newest forward acquisition in Kelvin Yeboah this week. On top of an excellent goal-scoring start to his Loons career with three goals in his first three games for the club, the Ghanaian-Italian striker has also picked up five bonus points in that span, for key passes (3) and shots on goal (2). Although rotation risk (and positional disadvantage) could be a concern with Eric Ramsay’s ever-changing lineups, it’s also worth considering that Tani Oluwaseyi is still returning from injury, while Teemu Pukki remains out of form. Minnesota also remains in the hunt for a playoff spot, occupying one of two play-in spots in the West to start the week – with a clash against a porous SKC side on the weekend.
