DiffeRANCHals: 2025 Round 22

 

 

 

 

Every week, we’ll go over our 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 did not play), average = 4-5 points, good = 6-8 points, great = 9+ points. Double gameweeks (DGWs) are scored as follows: bust = 6 or fewer points (or not starting/on the bench), average = 7-9 points, good = 10-12 points and great = 13+ points. Players not available for selection are disregarded and not counted as either a positive or a negative in the article.

Week 21 Results: 

Matt:

• Kalani Kossa-Rienzi – Bust (2 points)
• Jack McGlynn- Good (11 points)
• Gabriel Pec- Great! (19 points) 

Ranch:

• Ryan Hollingshead- Good (11 point)
• Paul Rothrock – Bust (3 points)
• Price Owusu – Good (11 point)

Meg:

• Franco Escobar – Bust (3 points) 
• Phillip Zinckernagel- Great! (18 points)
• Eric Choupo-Moting – Great! (16 points) 

Matt Results: 6 Great, 12 Good, 12 Average, 24 Bust (55%)

Ranch Results: 11 Great, 18 Good, 6 Average, 22 Bust (61%)

Meg Results: 5 Great, 4 Good, 3 Average, 14 Busts (46%)

2025 Full Season Results: 22 Great, 33 Good, 21 Average, 60 Busts (55%)

 

Welcome back to diffeRANCHals! This weekend we have the games split between Friday night and Saturday night. Not only is that more soccer to watch for us, it also creates a variety of options for switcharoos. So whether you need a fun initial bench play or a differential fall back option, let’s get into it!

Matt: Justin Glad, $8.3m (Defender – Real Salt Lake)

While they are far from the chalk option, RSL provides a great late fall back if your bench fails in either the Friday night or early Saturday games and you don’t trust Vancouver to keep SKC quiet. San Jose hasn’t been shut out in the road for a while, but their attack has looked fair from consistent while RSL has seem to solidify some things on the backline. Glad specifically will get you a passing bonus points or two on top of helpfully a CS. 

Ranch: Ian Pilcher, $4.2m (Defender – San Diego)

If you are looking for a defender that is solely for bonus points, Ian Pilcher is your guy. When McVey was next to him, Pilcher put up 155 passes. With Duah next to him, Pilcher put up 111 passes. Those numbers speak for themselves. Even without a clean sheet, Pilcher is likely to put up 4-5 points, which is pretty good for a defender!

Meg: Jon Gallagher, $7.1m (Defender – Austin FC)

I know on the road defenders aren’t usually the players folks take chances on but let me tell you why you should take a look and consider Gallagher anyway. 1…ATX is notorious for slotting Gallagher up top as an OOP attacker. 2…it’s DCU and they have two different versions of their team and only one of them can seem to score. I am not predicting an ATX cs … .but I do see the potential for BPs and maybe some goal contributions from Gallagher, since DCU and solid defense are words not usually used in the same sentence, this is a flyer pick. 

Ranch: Jack McGlynn, $12.3m (Midfielder – Houston) 

Jack McGlynn is back to his old self after coming back from a long term injury. His performances over the last 3 games are nothing to scoff at. He has been a very solid play and just  notched his first goal since week 13. Now with Houston hosting the Galaxy, I can see McGlynn showing what he is worth and his vengeance from an All Star snub.

Meg: Gabriel Pirani, $8.2m (Midfielder – DC United)

Like I said above, I don’t think ATX will hold a CS…because I foresee Pirani goals…duh. Yes I know Benteke is back and can definitely snag some beautiful goals but Pirani has been getting on the score board the last few weeks just fine all on his own. I think this home match opens things up for him to get more BPs with keypasses, assists with Tekkers, as well as a few goals all on his own. If you are looking for a 5th midfielder this week and want someone off the chalk list, take a chance on Pirani. 

Matt: Myrto Uzuni, $7.5m (Midfield – Austin)

Uzuni has not been very impressive since coming to MLS. Frankly, he hasn’t been very good. But with Brandon Vazquez out for the rest of the season, Uzuni has stepped to lead the line and will be against the dumpster fire that is DC United this weekend. Obviously it’s a small sample size, but against a similarly struggling LA Galaxy this past weekend, Uzuni got himself a goal, an assist and 4 KPs. It is reasonable to expect him to see similar opportunities against DC as well

Meg: Idan Toklomati, $5.7m (Forward – Charlotte FC)

Last week Toklomati managed to get a goal and with Agyemang transferred out, he has the start alongside Zaha. Zaha is great and is definitely the player (alongside Pep Biel) that defenders are going to try to contain, which should give Toklomati the freedom to roam and get into pockets of space to take shots on goal. I think he is a solid flyer this week if you are looking outside of the chalk options. Last week he managed 12 points, 3 in the first game and 9 in the second. In the last 5 games Toklomati has scored in 3 of them. I wonder if he can continue his streak?

Matt: Emmanuel Sabbi, $7m (Forward – Vancouver)

Brian White seems to be the chalk pick for Vancouver, but there have been some people struggling to find budget options this week. Moving to Sabbi is a great way to not only save some money up front, but to also have enough money to provide some flexibility going into the final games of the weekend. Sabbi has become a solid attacking piece in that Vancouver attack and can always find himself with a solid chance on goal. But the best part of this pick is that he’s currently on a goal-every-other-game  streak and science says that means he has to score against SKC this weekend.

Ranch: Danny Musovski, $7.7m (Forward – Seattle)

A player who has been quietly staying out of the spotlight is Danny Musovski. He has already recorded 8 goals and 2 assists this season and he has only started 9 games. Those are impressive numbers! With Jordan Morris going down in the last game with a shoulder injury, expect Musovski to play close to a full 90 in Atlanta. On his scoring streak, I can see Musovski notching at least one goal, if not more. I also need to root for my home town hero!

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Contributors: 
Tyler Norman, @Ranchinator on Discord
Matt Nelson, @Tinkerman on Discord
Megan Lee Turner, @Meg on Discord