2024 Round 29 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 28 Final Results: 

Matt:

• Amine Bassi – Bust (3 points)
• Mikael Uhre – Bust (1 point)

Brandon:

• Gabriele Corbo – Bust (DNP)
• Jordan Morris – Bust (2 points)

Ranch:

• Arnaud Souquet – Bust (3 points)
• Eduard Löwen – Good (8 points)

2024 Full Season Results: 31 Great, 25 Good, 24 Average, 79 Busts

Matt Results: 11 Great, 5 Good, 10 Average, 28 Bust (48% non-bust)

Brandon Results: 10 Great, 9 Good, 10 Average, 24 Bust (55% non-bust)

Ranch Results: 10 Great, 11 Good, 4 Average, 27 Bust (48% non-bust)

 

Welcome back to week 28 of the DiffeRANCHals article! Collectively speaking, not the best of weeks for us after five busts across the board; just the one Good score to show for everything. As such, it’s a green light on having the memory of a proverbial goldfish as we leap into week 29, the penultimate week of the season!

Ranch: Kai Wagner, $11.7m (Defender – Philadelphia) 

It feels so wrong to be naming Kai Wagner as a differential any week in FMLS. It feels even worse to be calling him a differential on a DGW. However, that is exactly what Kai is this week, a differential. With other defenses looking to have better/good enough matchups to get a clean sheet, many people are going to fade off of the best defender in the game currently, at 171 points. Does Wagner really need clean sheets to have good scores? No. Wagner’s previous DGW scores have been the following: 13, 11, 20, 10, 10, 15. How many of those games consisted of a clean sheet? 5 of the 12 games. That just goes to show that Wagner is dangerous even when the matchups are difficult, such as this week being on the road vs Miami and Columbus.

Matt: Richie Laryea, $6.9m (Defender – Toronto)

It’s time for another crazy DGW which means it’s time for another Laryea pick. Toronto has two home games this match week, hosting NYRB on Wednesday and Miami on Saturday. I don’t necessarily think they have the best CS chance against the two games, but Laryea has continued to show that he is a threat going forward. Both NYRB and Miami continue to struggle defensively, especially on the road, and Laryea has the ability to really take advantage of that.

Brandon: Saba Lobjanidze, $10.7m (Midfielder – Atlanta)

If last week wasn’t flying too close to the sun via Corbo and Sirois, this one this week might be. Still, with a double-home game schedule against Montréal and NYRB (and yes, Montréal’s pair of clean sheets over the last two weeks considered), it’s hard to ignore Atlanta. Most would probably look to Miranchuk here, but it’s the Georgian I’m interested in after some solid scores this season. I’m also going to take this opportunity to give a shout out to San Jose’s Cristian Espinoza as a backup option – yes, San Jose can’t score to save their lives right now, but a pair of home games against Dallas and RSL, plus, the fact that CEspi still bagged a 6 last week despite the Quakes being shutout by Montréal, is just enough for an honorable mention from me.

Ranch: Cristian Espinoza, $11.7m (Midfielder – San Jose)

Against everything within me, I am picking a midfielder from the worst team in the entire league for the 2024 MLS season. I would consider this just a gut feeling, as Espinoza really hasn’t been all that impressive with his fantasy scores, especially at home. On the bright side, Espinoza does have a double home game matchup against Dallas and RSL, which are probably two of the best teams for him to show up defensively. On top of that, Paes has a wrist injury and could miss a game for Dallas. Espinoza just needs to figure out how to convince his team to score one of his many key passes or score on his own and he is bound to have a breakout week!

Brandon: Alonso Martinez, $9.8m (Forward – NYCFC)

DId someone say… Brandon’s picking an in-form forward again? Because, well, yes, yes I am. Amongst the myriad of options up top this week, I’m choosing to go with the top pick in last week’s Hudson River Derby. NYCFC are another one of the clubs with a full home slate this week, with games against Cincinnati and most importantly, Nashville, with the upside of being early enough that he can be stashed on the bench for a weekend switcheroo, if needed. Martinez has also had a nice little run of form with six goals in his last six games and has proven capable of scoring off the bench – an important consideration with these late season DGWs.

Matt: Brian White, $11.0m (Forward – Vancouver)

It’ll be hard to convince yourself to move away from the chalk picks this week. But let’s say you really want to spice things up. Vancouver has two solid home matchups this match week, hosting Seattle in a Cascadia rivalry matchup (where the Sounders have conceded 2 goals in each of the last 3 matchups at BC Place) and Minnesota who, though in better form recently, have only kept a CS in 13% of their away games this season. If that isn’t enough to back up taking the Whitecaps’ leading goalscorer, Brian White is currently on a great run of form, scoring a goal in each of his past three matches and, if you go back further, he’s scored 10 goals in his last 9 games. I don’t know who you would fade for him, but if you want to make a move in the rankings this week, White is your guy.