Round 11 DiffeRANCHals

Special Update from MLS Fantasy Boss: In honor of Tyler “Ranchinator” Norman, this article series is being renamed “DiffeRanchals.” A new graphic will come soon!

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), average = 4-5 points, good = 6-8 points, great = 9+ points.

 

• Robert Voloder – Bust (3 points)
• Derrick Williams – Bust (3 points)
• Jean Mota – Bust (2 points)
• Marcelino Moreno – Good (8 points)
• Michael Barrios – Average (5 points off the bench!)
• Brenner – Bust (2 points)
• Honorable Mentions – Acosta 8, Gressel 3, Russell 7, Willis 4

 

 

Week 8 Final Results: 1 Good, 1 Average, 4 Busts

Full Season Results: 6 Great, 9 Goods, 6 Average, 35 Busts

My apologies for missing last week. I was on vacation and did not have time to write an article. Next week I will try to have an early article out to make up for the missed one! This week is weird with a lot of the good teams having road games. There is definitely a clean sheet or two for the lower-standing home teams, so keep an eye on those. Let’s get into it!

 

Teenage Hadebe, $7.4m (Houston Defender)

Teenage Hadebe is starting to become a name that people should recognize. His bonus point production is anywhere between 2-4 bonus points per game. Houston’s matchup for this weekend favors Hadebe in the sense that Randall Leal is out injured, Hany Mukhtar played 113 minutes midweek, and Nashville is back on the road after two home games. While Nashville played a bunch of starters for the USOC match and went 120, Houston rotated heavily for their match and won in 90 minutes. Hadebe had a full week off and is expected to start alongside Tim Parker this weekend. This game is probably going to be a snoozefest, resulting in a 0-0 or 1-0 game.

Ian Murphy, $6.3m (Cincinnati Defender)

Does anyone else love to gamble with random defenders? Just me? My random defender pick of the week landed on Ian Murphy. Cincinnati has quietly started to learn how to play defensively with their new DP signing Nwobodo commanding the defensive midfield position. In 4 of Murphy’s 5 starts this season, Cincinnati has either gotten a clean sheet or Murphy scored a goal. This is a bet on the clean sheet for me, with Cincinnati traveling to Chicago.

Joaquin Torres, $5.4m (Montreal Mid)

First a flier defender, now a flier midfielder! Joaquin Torres has been lights out for Montreal in his last 3 starts. First, on the road to Cincinnati, he scored a goal, then he played 45 minutes against Atlanta and scored a goal. This led to another start versus Orlando where Joaquin managed 1 goal and 2 assists. This may have been partly due to the Orlando rotations in defense, but also due to the speed and footwork that Joaquin has. If he starts on the road to Charlotte this weekend, he could be worth a bench play.

Albert Rusnak, $6.7m (Seattle Mid)

That’s CCL Champion Albert Rusnak to you. Did he manage to get on the scoresheet during the CCL Finals? No. Did he still provide the key contributing passes to get all 3 goals? Yes. Rusnak has been flying a little bit under the radar with his price dropping all the way to $6.7m due to rotation and CCL. Now that CCL is done and Joao Paulo is injured, Rusnak is in charge of commanding the defensive midfield. This should generate a lot of bonus points alongside getting involved in the attack. To add on to all of this, Rusnak will likely be splitting corners with Nicolas Lodeiro moving forward.

Matt Polster, $7.5m (New England Mid)

Polster is going to be your typical run-of-the-mill defensive midfielder who generates a solid 5 to 6 points per game unless he manages a goal or assist. With New England traveling to an Atlanta team that just played 120 minutes midweek, this is a perfect opportunity for Polster to be involved in a goal. He already was involved in 3 goals this week when hosting Charlotte and Miami. Another favorable matchup versus a tired and injured (Gutman + Miles Robinson) Atlanta team is a recipe for success for any player involved in the attack.

Maxi Urruti, $7.8m (Austin Forward)

This is a name I never thought I would ever write about. Maxi. Urruti. This is his 10th year in the league and he looks poised for a big season. He has already notched 4 goals and 1 assist through 10 games! He has gone two games without a goal and now sees himself against a Pablo Ruiz-less RSL side that will be on the backfoot for most of the match. One nice through ball from Driussi into Maxi’s feet and he has the talent to finish the chances given to him. I wouldn’t be surprised if he manages to score a brace in this one.

Julian Carranza, $9m (Philadelphia Forward)

Let’s lay down all the information, then decide if Carranza is worth it. Having the season of his career thus far with 3 assists and 4 goals? Check. Playing against an inexperienced center back duo? Check. Playing against a team that doesn’t have their primary playmaker for this fixture? Check. The New York Red Bulls are entering this game with injuries to Aaron Long and his backup Mozon. I have no idea who the center back pairing will be for the Red Bulls this weekend, which makes me think that a center forward that’s hot can score on them. Lewis Morgan also will be missing the game due to Health & Safety Protocols. This is important because that means Daniel Gazdag will be able to command the midfield without his counterpart present. Be on the lookout for an entertaining game between two of the best teams in the Eastern Conference currently!

 

Honorable Mentions:

• Sega Coulibaly – Sega has a good matchup versus a poor road team in FC Dallas. Plus I like his name.
• Marcelino Moreno – I felt like I couldn’t mention him in back-to-back articles, but I do really like his floor and PK potential for this game.
• Emmanuel Reynoso – He shows up in big games. This is a big game against Seattle. Xavier Arreaga also is out with a concussion.
• Karol Swiderski – Montreal may be good offensively, but they struggle defensively. Swiderski is the primary guy that is likely to score against a bad defensive team.