DiffeRANCHals: 2026 Week 3

 

 

 

 

Introduction

Welcome back to diffeRANCHals season 5! I can’t believe we already are at 5 consecutive seasons of doing an article about differentials. I wouldn’t have been able to continue for this long without the support of all of the readers along with the contributors who have stepped up to help out. This season is going to be a little bit different compared to previous season due to the divide among locations of where people are playing the fantasy MLS games. For this reason, Meg and I will be focusing on differentials with Kickbase while Matt is focusing on FUTD and xChandyo will be joining the team to write about Sofascore. We’re so excited for this season and hopefully all of you are too. Let’s get into it!

 

Ranch & Meg’s KB Differentials

Week Results: KB has a color-coded system that lets managers know if their picks were great, good, average or a bust so this season, we plan to use the colors to show how our differentials score.

Ranch: Jakheele Marshall-Rutty, $11.3m (Defender – NYRB)

Some people may argue that JMR is not a differential this week. I can understand the argument, however, with Che being the primary target on NYRB defense, I’m going to mention JMR as the next best option. JMR is a player who has always loved to get into the attack. Not only that, but he is playing against one of his former teams this week, Montreal. With all of that in mind and the fact that Montreal is not the best team, I like my odds with JMR. 

Meg: Jeison Palacios, $13.3m (Defender – Nashville)

Palacios could be a sneaky play this week with Nashville hosting Minnesota United. Playing centrally in Nashville’s back line, Palacios benefits from a role that often racks up points through clearances, duels won, and interceptions. Minnesota tends to attack with direct play and crosses into the box, which can actually boost a center back’s defensive action totals. Also, with Nashville typically being solid at home defensively that also upticks Palacios. Considering the generation of baseline points from defensive movements while also having clean sheet chances, that combination makes him a strong under-the-radar option this week.

Meg: Gerardo “Dado” Valenzuela, $7.9m (Midfielder – FC Cincinnati)

I know last week was not his best performance but this week FC Cincy is at home which makes Valenzuela is an interesting differential to consider at home against Toronto FC. Evander was out last weekend so Dado stepped into the 10 spot, slotting right behind Denkey and Jabbari. This week, he should be the main link in pushing the attack. That role should give him plenty of opportunities for key passes, progressive carries, and shots from the top of the box — all things that tend to rack up Kickbase points. Toronto has also shown they can be vulnerable through the middle, so if Valenzuela keeps delivering service this week, he could be a sneaky option with high upside.

Ranch: Joaquin Pereyra, $27.3m (Midfielder – Minnesota)

Pereyra is a player who has had a lot of question marks in MLS fantasy throughout his time with Minnesota. He plays well, then poor, then has a random good game with a series of poor performances. I am hoping that the KB scoring changes that for Pereyra. He passes the eye test, and with the adjustments for scoring, it seems as if he also passes the fantasy test (in a small sample size). Let’s see if he can reproduce the same scores in a week against Nashville!

Ranch: Bryan Ramirez, $17.7m (Forward – Cincinnati)

A 218 score with a goal week 1, 106 score with no goal/assist week 2, and a forward. Ramirez is an interesting choice for a pick this week. He is good for a budget option if you are in a sicko league. Ramirez has a pretty easy matchup this week with Cincy hosting Toronto and depending on the Evander new, Ramirez’s scores could skyrocket or stay at a base 100-ish. Either way, not a bad play!

Meg: Zavier Gozo($16.6m)/Aiden Hezarkhani($.6m) (Forward – RSL)

Hezarkhani or Gozo could be big point scorers as they travel to face Atlanta this week. After both scored around 175 points last week, I do think they can add to the count. Hezarkhani in particular stands out from a budget standpoint at just $0.6m, making him a cheap starter and a useful option for managers needing to free up funds elsewhere. Hezarkhani operates in the more central goal-scoring role and could capitalize if RSL finds attacking chances in transition. I am unsure of how the starting lineup will change with the injury to Piol, Gozo might shift up and start beside Hezarkhani but either way, I do think both forwards are worth consideration this week. Are you brave enough to take a chance? Ping me in Discord on Saturday if you do. =]

 

Matt’s FUTD Differentials

We are starting to get a good understanding of which players are going to be the most valuable on FUTD and, more specifically, why we shouldn’t trust a Revs player (sorry about the Raines pick). In all seriousness, I had some rough recommendations last week and while Santos Raines and DeRo still have a chance to do well for you this season, here are three more under the radar picks you should be considering ahead of the matchweek. 

Week Results: 1, -2, 2

Matt: Maxwell Woldezi, $4m (Defender – Nashville)

It’s too early to say, but it sure looks like Nashville found their Zimmerman replacement. He looks great on the field, Nashville fans love him, and he seems to have a great fantasy floor with his passing stats and defensive contributions. He should be good for 5-6 points a game without a CS.

Matt: Lucas Sanabria, $3.5 (Midfielder – LA Galaxy)

The LA Galaxy destroyed Charlotte FC last week and Joao Klauss and Gabriel Pec stole the show. Hopefully your league mates thought so too because that might mean a cheap Sanabria is available in the Marketplace. He looked great this past weekend and the week before he even had a decent floor performances. While I don’t see him playing as the 10 long term, if Reus misses more time this season (whether to injury or rotation), I love the idea of Sanabria sitting underneath Paintsil, Klauss and Pec.

Matt: Ezekiel Alladoh, $4.6m (Forward – Philadelphia)

I know his (and his team’s) stoke is low right now, but I love the idea of buying low on Alladoh. It was a boneheaded mistake that got him the red card, but I really do think he can play an important role in this Philly attack and if you can sneak him in below market value and stash for a few weeks, I genuinely believe he’s going to be a match week winner a few times this season. 

Chandyo’s SofaScore Differentials

Last week was pretty solid, Got a 6 out of Camacho and that was without a CS. The Cubas got a 5, could have been better but I’ll take the 5. Ingvartsen was a hit with 12 points. 

Week Results: 6, 5, 12

Season Results: 1 Great, 1 Good, 1 Average, 3 Bust

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. 

Chandyo: DEF – Kieran Sargeant – 4.5M (SD)

Okay, so I know I am picking on SKC for the 2nd straight week but Sargeant is the cheapest DEF for SD. Now his form will probably help with  BPs, but he hasn’t really gotten any in the previous weeks, so this might be a case of Cleansheet hunting. 

Chandyo:  MID – Zavier Gozo – 5.4M (RSL)

Gozo is coming off a great game where he scored 9 points. RSL will be on the road this week which worries me a little bit but ATL doesn’t look good again this season. The new signings for RSL should be coming on soon so I feel like Gozo will want to make the most of his chances here so he can stay on the pitch with them.  

Chandyo: FWD – Osaze De Rosario – 4.5M (SEA)

Okay so yeah he hasn’t done much in the 1st 2 games but i am seeing that he is getting points for winning duals. STL can be a little leaky in the Defense, I can see with the tear that Rusnak is on that he finds De Rosario for a goal this week.