2024 Round 28 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.

Week 27 Final Results: 

Matt:

• Ryan Hollingshead – Bust (6 points)
• Carles Gil – Great! (15 points)

Brandon:

• Ryan Gauld – Average (8 points)
• Kelvin Yeboah – Great! (16 points)

Ranch:

• Steven Moreira – Bust (4 points)
• Giacomo Vrioni – Bust (5 points)

2024 Full Season Results: 29 Great, 24 Good, 23 Average, 72 Busts

Matt Results: 11 Great, 5 Good, 10 Average, 26 Bust (50% non-bust)

Brandon Results: 10 Great, 9 Good, 10 Average, 22 Bust (57% non-bust)

Ranch Results: 10 Great, 10 Good, 4 Average, 26 Bust (48% non-bust)

 

Welcome back to week 28 of the DiffeRANCHals article! Last week was a rough one to predict given the rotation that happened during the week. This week, however, we also have something to look out for – HURRICANE HELENE! Keep that in mind when making your picks, and refer to the Weather Alerts channel in the MLSFB Discord for updates on how those games will pan out. Anyways, let’s get into the picks for the week!

Ranch: Andrew Gutman/Arnoud Souquet, $5.4m (Defender – Chicago) 

For the first pick of the week, I am dipping into the well by picking a Chicago defender! I specifically really want Andrew Gutman, should he be healthy. Gutman, however, has missed the last 3 games due to an injury. If he does play, I consider him for this diffeRANCHal. If he does not, consider it to be Arnoud Souquet. Chicago has Toronto FC coming into town, which already is a relatively easy matchup for Chicago. What makes it even easier, though, is that Toronto played a grueling 90 minutes midweek in the Candian Championship final, only to lose! Chicago has already been somewhat solid defensively as of late, so the chances of getting a cleansheet is actually higher than you would think for a team like the Fire.

Brandon: Gabriele Corbo, $4.4m (Defender – Montréal)

A Montréal defender, in this economy? Yep, you have that correct. Some might think that this pick is due their clean sheet last week at home to Chicago… and that’s correct… in part. Although it’s hard to believe that Montréal, with their own defensive problems this season, could keep two shutouts in a row, they do welcome a lethargic San Jose this week. A San Jose who sit ten points adrift of next-worst New England at the bottom of the Supporters’ Shield table. As such, a sneaky Corbo pick (and a Sirois double-up, anyone?) could be your ticket to good point gains, with the Italian defender’s passing and ball-movement abilities in tow.

Matt: Amine Bassi, $10.9m (Midfielder – Houston)

The Sounders defense has been fairly resilient at home, but that doesn’t mean they won’t concede (just look at last week’s abysmal performance against an awful San Jose side). If Hector Herrera is indeed out, Bassi can become the main playmaker again and show us the unreal floor he had at the beginning of the season. The best part of this differential is most people are using Seattle as a fall back defense. So when Bassi gets a goal involvement Saturday night, you can watch everyone’s CSs fail while you get points on top of it.

Ranch: Eduard Lowen, $9.9m (Midfielder – St. Louis)

With all of the talk going toward Marcel Hartel, St. Louis’ new signing, I am looking at the playmaker who has been there since the start, Eduard Lowen. Eduard has been a consistent player for St. Louis and, although his bonus points have fallen off since Hartel joined, he is still a goal/assist threat. Lowen gets to host a Sporting Kansas City (rivalry) team after they just played 120 minutes in a USOC Finals loss. It’s almost as if you can see the trend in my picks! My main concern for this game is that Hurricane Helene could potentially affect the start time of the game, as weather will be relatively rough. Should the game both start and finish up, I fully expect STL to win by at least 2-3 goals against SKC. My hope is that Lowen is the one that participates in goal contributions over Hartel.

Matt: Mikael Uhre, $9.8m (Forward – Philadelphia)

Everyone and their mother is going to have Baribo this week, targeting that awful Atlanta backline. Best way to do the same while maximizing your chances of making OR moves is to play Mikael Uhre. Uhre has quietly been on fire, scoring 4 goals and collecting 3 assists in the past 7 games. Don’t get me wrong, Baribo’s form has also been incredible. But if you want to take advantage of another in-form player, Uhre is your guy.

Brandon: Jordan Morris, $12.0m (Forward – Seattle)

Jumping into a different carriage of the same in-form forward train that Matt is riding, it’s JMo – and his four goals plus two assists in his last five games – who gets the nod from me this week. While Houston’s defense is a bit more stout compared to, say, Atlanta or San Jose, fewer people are likely to have Morris, which could mean exceptional increases if he and Seattle find the back of the net yet again at Lumen Field.