Round 7 Differentials

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. 

• Guzman Corujo – Good (8 points)
• Ethan Bartlow – Bust (1 point)
• John Tolkin – Bust (2 points)
• Joseph Rosales – Bust (Dang, he started 2 points)
• Brandon Servania – Great (10 points)
• Hany Mukhtar – Good (7 points)
• Sebastian Ferreira – Great (11 points)

 

Week 6 Final Results: 2 Great, 2 Good, 3 Busts

Full Season Results: 4 Great, 7 Goods, 3 Average, 22 Busts

Last week was definitely the week for differential picks. If you took some of the advice from this article, congrats! If not, hope you still had a great week. This week seems like another week that should be good for differentials. When matchups are hard to predict, differentials will appear. There is also going to be a new portion of this article added at the end, so be sure to read through it until then!

Andy Najar, $6.7m (DCU Defender)

I normally would suggest someone like Julian Gressel or Brad Smith here. They are on set pieces to produce that offensive upside. I honestly have no explanation as to why I would choose Najar over Smith for his price. Najar is an unusual pick because he is a center back that gets involved in the attack. With DC hosting an Austin side with a suspended Cecelio Dominguez, I believe that they stand a good chance at holding the clean sheet. 

Lucas Esteves, $8.2m (Colorado Defender)

Minnesota has recorded a total of 5 goals all season. 3 of those 5 goals have been at home. While picking an expensive road defender is always risky, Esteves generates offense in the form of assists. He has already recorded 3 assists this season. In those games, Esteves scored 12, 13, and 5 points respectively. Those scores alone are enough to convince me to take a shot at him against a weak Minnesota offense.

Deandre Yedlin, $5m (Miami Defender)

This pick feels a bit like homerism. I have always been a long-time Yedlin fan. Deandre Yedlin became the first homegrown player for the Seattle Sounders back in 2013. He played 2 years in Seattle before being sold to a European team. Since returning to MLS with Inter Miami, this will be Yedlin’s first visit to Seattle. There is an old saying in fantasy: “Players show up in revenge games.” Seattle is coming off a high from midweek’s CCL victory and Schmetzer has already confirmed that there will be rotation. I personally do not want a clean sheet by Miami, nor do I think they will get one. What I am wanting from Yedlin is a potential assist and bonus points because of having a good game.

Ryan Gauld, $8.5m (Vancouver Midfielder)

Goald? Gold? Guaild? Gould? Goauld? Oh… Gauld. Ryan Gauld opened his account last weekend from the PK spot. This was against their Cascadia rivals, Portland. This weekend, Vancouver travels across the country to their Canadian rivals, Montreal. What’s the similarity between these two matchups? Rivals. I’m expecting fireworks between these two. Vancouver and Montreal have both been suspect on the defensive side of things this season. Montreal has been scoring often and Vancouver is starting to score goals. This could turn into a 3-2 or 4-3 game really fast. The scoring opportunities may come from Cristian Dajome or Ryan Gauld. I prefer Gauld in the mid spot. On top of all of this, Montreal vs Vancouver is the first game of the weekend. Meaning Gauld can be used as a bench player to avoid risking a bad score in your main lineup.

Santiago Rodriguez, $7.9m (NYCFC Midfielder)

Santi Rodriguez is the fill-in for Maxi Moralez who is currently injured. Through his CCL games, Santi has produced 2 goals and 1 assist. In MLS play, he has 1 goal and 1 assist. NYCFC are hosting Real Salt Lake at Yankee Stadium this week. The difference between the CCL games and the game this weekend is the stadium. NYCFC becomes a fortress when playing at Yankee Stadium. They tend to score a lot of goals while not conceding many. With Santi Rodriguez filling in as the playmaker, he has a good chance at producing either a goal or an assist. The only part that makes me nervous about him is his minutes after playing 90 minutes midweek.

CJ Sapong, $6m (Nashville Forward)

Can I just copy and paste what I wrote about for Sebastian Ferreira here last week? Sure; with an asterisk on the adjusted goals from last week. “One of, if not the worst teams in the league currently has already allowed 15* goals against this season. Not only have they allowed 15* goals, but 8* of those have been to a center forward (2 PKs, 4* to playmaking mids, 1 to a center back*).”

Kwadwo Opoku, $6.5m (LAFC Forward)

LAFC should have a chip on their shoulder after coming off of a disappointing loss in El Trafico. During that match, Brian Rodriguez came off injured. This should make the front line Arango-Vela-Opoku. Arango is another amazing shout for a differential. He has not played many minutes this season but took the league by storm when joining in the summer last year. In regard to Opoku, he has been consistently scoring not 2. In other words, he is getting bonus points, assists, or goals.

 

Honorable Mentions:

Cristian Roldan, $8.3m (Seattle Midfielder)

Cristian has scored a combined 1 goal and 7 assists in the last 11 games. If that isn’t a reason to be eyeing someone, I don’t know what is! I’m not including him as a differential because I mentioned him on the podcast (and Seattle had CCL midweek).

Alexander Pato, $8.3m (Orlando Forward)

In form forward against a suspect defense? Yes please! I’m not including him as a differential this week because he is on the road and I don’t fully trust Orlando yet.