2024 Round 21 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 20 Final Results: 

Matt:

• Dagur Thorhallsson – Great! (14 points)
• Maren Haile-Selassie – Great! (16 points)

Brandon:

• Miki Yamane – Good (12 points)
• Federico Bernardeschi – Average (8 points)

Ranch:

• Asier Illarramendi – Bust (3 points)
• Bongokuhle Hlongwane – Good (12 points)

2024 Full Season Results: 17 Great, 20 Good, 21 Average, 60 Busts

Matt Results: 6 Great, 5 Good, 9 Average, 21 Bust

Brandon Results: 6 Great, 6 Good, 8 Average, 19 Bust

Ranch Results: 5 Great, 9 Good, 4 Average, 20 Bust

 

Welcome back to week 21 of the diffeRANCHals article: Special edition! This is the no D week! For this week, each of us will be picking 1 midfielder and 1 forward. If you have any doubts on players in those positions for your own team, this is the perfect week to consider one of these guys!

Brandon: Luca Orellano, $10.2m (Midfielder – Cincinnati)

Did someone say ‘hot hand’? Because, uh, yep, once again, we’re throwing a bone out to a player (and team) that is/are cooking with gas. That player this week, is Cincy’s 24-year-old Alvaro Barreal replacement. Although he hasn’t quite met the scores of last season’s Alvaro “defender” Barreal, Orellano has been playing much closer to goal than Barreal ever did. That, in recent weeks, has led to a pair of goals and three assists over his last five starts. Tack on the multiple bonus points for key passes and shots on goal since the start of the summer and a Cincy midfield double-up alongside Lucho might just feature in this week’s Dream Team.

Matt: Cole Bassett, $12.5m (Midfielder – Colorado)

No Miha no party? No Miha BASSET PARTY! Mihailovic was called up to the US Olympic team so Bassett should be playing more of a creative role. This season when Mihailovic didn’t play, Bassett ended on a 12 and an 11. New York RB is one of the stronger defenses in the league, but away from Red Bull Arena they have struggled to keep a clean sheet, giving up a goal in 87% of their away games. Additionally, Colorado is averaging over 2 goals per game at home and more recently they have scored 15 goals in their last 5 home games. Colorado really should be scoring and Bassett should be very involved.

Ranch: Facundo Torres, $9.6m (Midfielder – Orlando)

With rumors circling around on a transfer (seems like every year), this week Facundo Torres is the choice of player for the article. Now last week I had said on the podcast that Nicolas Lodeiro was a decent play for the DGW. This turned out to be extremely wrong with him being a sub appearance in both. While Lodeiro was on the bench, you know who wasn’t? Facundo Torres. And what did he do with that? Well, he put up some pretty good numbers against DC United, but struggled against Toronto FC. Although Facundo has some struggles on the road, this week he gets to play against the New England Revolution, who have been having a hard time keeping a clean sheet. Should Orlando get on the board, Facundo might be the player to pick (or Martin Ojeda, but I don’t trust him to start).

Ranch: Bongokuhle Hlongwane, $8.1m (Forward – Minnesota)

Rinse and repeat seems like the formula for diffeRANCHals this season. So why not try to strike gold twice? While Tani Oluwaseyi has been out with Canada, Hlongwane has stepped up and produced. Although Bongi only scored a 2 against the LA Galaxy, he did have an assist called offsides and was very dangerous on the counter. Minnesota has shown that they can score goals randomly, regardless of the opponent. Typically, those goals come from one of three guys: Pukki, Hlongwane, or Oluwaseyi. With Tani out, there is a 50/50 chance that if the goal is scored, it will be Bongi. I like the chances against Houston this weekend.

Brandon: Giacomo Vrioni, $9.3m (Forward – New England)

Am I hoping lightning strikes a third time for the oft-beleaguered striker? Maybe. Is this also just a fun third-forward-option bench play that could result in either a red card and a -3, or a hat trick? Also maybe. What I can say for certain, is that despite his really quite mediocre scouting report, the Revs striker has somehow recently found a good bed of bonus points, and, having scored every other game for the last four games, he’s definitely (not actually) in for another brace this week.

Matt: Brian White, $9.6m (Forward – Vancouver)

Brian White has been on a tear the past few weeks, scoring 5 goals in 3 games including a hat trick at home against St Louis in week 19. While they have been better at home, St. Louis can easily ship a few goals, especially against a proficient attack like Vancouver. We shouldn’t read too much into past matchups, but Vancouver and St. Louis have played each other 3 times since last season, and every matchup has been a high-scoring affair (3-1 St. Louis, 3-0 Vancouver, and 4-3 Vancouver). We should expect lots of goals on Saturday and Brian White should be heavily involved.