All hail Giovinco!
Toronto FC’s talisman came up huge for fantasy managers again, notching a hat trick in the Reds’ midweek dismantling of Orlando City SC. With his 17-point outburst (which became a cool 34 if you gave him the armband), Giovinco catapults past Benny Feilhaber as the top point-getter in MLS Fantasy with a staggering 165 points.
The three goals push the Italian to the peak of the Golden Boot standings with 16 goals, which pair nicely with his 10 assists.
I know his price tag is high ($12.8 and rising), but he’s a sure bet to continue gaining value and is the single most explosive player in the league this year. That’s why I’m shocked that he’s only owned by 25.1 percent of managers.
I don’t know what the rest of you are doing, but get on him! You’ll be glad you did.
Larin Quiet in Orlando Loss
The runaway leader in adds this week was Orlando’s Cyle Larin (five goals in two games will do that). But with Kaká staying in Florida to rest up for the Lions’ home match against Philly this weekend, the OCSC offense failed to gain a foothold against Toronto.
Larin played the full 90 and notched two points, but no one really stood out in a purple shirt. Luke Boden’s goal was tempered by the minus-2 penalty for four goals allowed, but it was still enough to get him on the midweek Team of the Week.
On the Toronto side, a set of strong performances in midfield saw four Reds on the team of the week. Collen Warner ($6.6m) and Jonathan Osorio ($7.1m) might be midfielders to watch if you’re someone who wants to push that salary cap money to other areas of the field.
Ciman Ejected in Montreal Draw
Laurent Ciman celebrated his 30th birthday with an early shower as the New York Red Bulls and Montreal Impact battled to a 1-1 draw. Personally, I think I’ve reached a breaking point with Ciman – I think you can get similar value from either of the Matts (Polster and Miazga), while saving quite a bit of cash. With Montreal on a bye in Round 24, Ciman will be on his way out of my side.
With the exception of Ciman’s value-killing red card, the fantasy impact of the match was somewhat negligible – Bradley Wright-Phillips (my captain for the week) failed to score or assist, as did Impact playmaker Ignacio Piatti.
The primary bright spot from a fantasy perspective was Dominic Oduro, who scored again and has now notched 10 and seven points in his last two matches, respectively. If the Impact offense improves with Didier Drogba’s introduction, Oduro ($7.1m) might be a sneaky differential play for a Montreal team that can leverage his freaky fast-ness on the counter.
On the other side of the ball, budget striker Mike Grella assisted on Lloyd Sam’s goal and continues to represent solid value at a Larin-esque price of $6.2m.
That’s all for this week. With no clean sheets to be had, this doesn’t go down as a terribly high-scoring midweek for non-Giovinco-owning managers (I doubt many of you own Benoit Cheyrou or Warner), but there’s still a full slate of games this weekend, capped by the Red Bulls-New York City FC rivalry Sunday night (7 pm ET; Fox Sports 1).
I’m hoping for some fireworks – and a BWP brace – in that one.
Were you one of the smart one who handed Giovinco the armband? Do you think any of the other three teams will bounce back with a big win this weekend? Let us know in the comments below.
