Week 15 Fantasy Lacrosse Notes
Over the last few weeks, I have mentioned that I have used the rankings in our fantasy lacrosse league to set my lineup. I wanted to share with you the latest rankings for the season. It is important to note that these rankings are based on fantasy lacrosse points per game, not total fantasy lacrosse points for the season.
The following list of forwards and defense are the list that I pick from each week. If a player is not in these rankings, or is not listed below as a wildcard status, I simply will not have them in my lineup. I do reset these rankings with the latest stats each week allowing for players to play their way in and out of my lineups.
Forwards
| Player | Team | GP | Total Points | PPG |
| Crawford, Callum | NEB | 10 | 83.25 | 8.33 |
| Jackson, Shayne | GEO | 10 | 78.75 | 7.88 |
| Dobbie, Dane | CGY | 3 | 23.5 | 7.83 |
| Smith, Dhane | BUF | 8 | 62 | 7.75 |
| Jones, Mitch | VAN | 12 | 88.75 | 7.40 |
| Cattoni, Holden | ROC | 10 | 73.5 | 7.35 |
| Staats, Randy | GEO | 10 | 72.75 | 7.28 |
| Thompson, Lyle | GEO | 10 | 71 | 7.1 |
| Evans, Shawn | ROC | 9 | 60.25 | 6.69 |
| Byrne, Josh | BUF | 10 | 65.5 | 6.55 |
| Hellyer, Rob | TOR | 10 | 64.5 | 6.45 |
| Hall, Jordan | GEO | 10 | 64.25 | 6.425 |
| Matthews, Mark | SAS | 9 | 57.75 | 6.42 |
| Crowley, Kevin | PHI | 12 | 76.5 | 6.38 |
| Lee, Ryan | COL | 12 | 72.25 | 6.02 |
| Staats, Austin | SDS | 4 | 24 | 6.00 |
| Benesch, Ryan | HFX | 11 | 65 | 5.91 |
| McLaughlin, Eli | COL | 10 | 58.25 | 5.83 |
| Berg, Wesley | SDS | 11 | 63.5 | 5.77 |
| Kew, Andrew | NEB | 9 | 51.5 | 5.72 |
The Wild Card
| Digby, Tyler | COL | 1 | 6.5 | 6.50 |
Tyler Digby is an interesting wild card at forward. If you just took his one game in Colorado, he would be 11th overall in fantasy lacrosse for forwards this season. However, taking all of his games together, with both New York and Colorado, he is ranked 63rd overall. As I mentioned last week, I am going to wait three games before considering him for my lineup each week, but he is someone that you can start to feel a little more comfortable with on a week to week basis if needed.
Defense/Transition
| Player | Team | GP | Total Points | PPG |
| Currier, Zach | CGY | 9 | 50.5 | 5.61 |
| Kri, Brad | TOR | 10 | 52.75 | 5.28 |
| Hossack, Graeme | HFX | 11 | 57.25 | 5.20 |
| Rubisch, Kyle | SAS | 9 | 44 | 4.89 |
| Matisz, Kiel | PHI | 12 | 56.75 | 4.73 |
| MacIntosh, Jordan | GEO | 9 | 42 | 4.67 |
| Bomberry, Adam | NEB | 6 | 27.5 | 4.58 |
| Dilks, Ryan | SAS | 9 | 40.75 | 4.53 |
| Suitor, Andrew | NYR | 11 | 48.5 | 4.41 |
| White, Joel | GEO | 9 | 39.5 | 4.39 |
The Wild Card
| Rogers, Challen | TOR | 10 | 38.5 | 3.85 |
Challen Rogers is my defensive wildcard, and if you follow my fantasy lacrosse column week to week, you would know that I used him last week with good success. He is the 2018-2019 transition player of the year who is having a somewhat down season from a fantasy lacrosse perspective. Currently though, he is starting to turn it on, and even with all of those struggles, he is still ranked 17th overall in his position. I try to stick to the top 10 on defense, but he is someone that I will use with confidence when the match up is right, or if depth that week is lacking.
Goalie
| Player | Team | GP | Total Minutes | PPG |
| Del Bianco, Christian | CGY | 9 | 548:51:00 | 9.56 |
| Rose, Nick | TOR | 10 | 596:34:00 | 9.13 |
| Jamieson, Doug | NEB | 10 | 594:31:00 | 9.10 |
| Ward, Dillon | COL | 12 | 720:30:00 | 9.00 |
| Vinc, Matt | BUF | 10 | 567:25:00 | 8.98 |
The Wild Card
| Damude, Nick | SDS | 7 | 284:18:00 | 4.46 |
In goal, I always play the matchups, but when that doesn’t allow, I stick to this top 5 below. The wildcard here though is Nick Damude. The rookie is at only 4.46 fantasy lacrosse points per game this season. Although he has seen time in seven games, he is only averaging slightly over 40 minutes per contest. He has been a big part of the team’s turnaround, and if he starts to get consistent minutes, he could be a force down the final half of the fantasy lacrosse season.
Start ‘em and Sit ‘em
Everybody tends to start Lyle Thompspon or Mark Matthews, but what is harder to map out is who to pair with them, or when to sit either of those tier one studs, to win the ultimate bragging rights between you and your buddies throughout the week. This section is dedicated to finding those players who can take you from good to great each week, and who to sit each week as well.
Forwards
Shayne Jackson
Fantasy Lacrosse Stats – 7.88 Fantasy PPG
Who would’ve thought that Shayne Jackson would be the brightest star to date in fantasy lacrosse on the Georgia Swarm. I will be playing him during his Friday night game against the New York Riptide, but you could feel comfortable choosing him in either game he is playing this weekend, or both.
Defense/Transition
Kyle Rubisch
Fantasy Lacrosse Stats – 4.89 Fantasy PPG
I can not ignore Kyle Rubisch anymore during this fantasy lacrosse season. I think I may have used him one other week, but he is sitting in fourth overall in the rankings and after last week’s 6.75 fantasy lacrosse points, is rising fast. The only player I trust more on transition/defense right now is Zach Currier in Calgary (who will also be in my lineup).
Goalie
Evan Kirk
Fantasy Lacrosse Stats – 7.50 Fantasy PPG
Evan Kirk is having a solid fantasy lacrosse season, but is only eighth overall in the rankings. The best matchups for goalies week to week are San Diego and Vancouver. With Rochester playing San Diego this week, I find myself trusting Kirk much more than the combination of Craig Wende and Rylan Hartley.
Studs to Avoid
Jake Withers and Trevor Baptiste
Fantasy Lacrosse Stats – 4.30 PPG (Withers) and 4.04 PPG (Baptiste)
At the start of the season, I was high on faceoff guys. I thought they would be the way to go each week. It is up to us though, to constantly re-evaluate the landscape of fantasy lacrosse. At the time, there were fewer games per week. Both of these top tier faceoff men have fallen out of the top 10 at their position entirely. So in a week with so much game action, steer clear of these two players even if their loose ball numbers are high, as they likely won’t give you top flight production.
Rookie to Watch
Andrew Kew
Fantasy Lacrosse Stats – 5.72 Fantasy PPG
Folks, we have our first rookie to crack the top 20 in fantasy lacrosse scoring this year. Andrew Kew is on fire, and with Callum Crawford drawing so much attention from opposing defenses, Kew is reaping the benefits. For the first time this season, we can say that you can play a rookie each week without worry of the match up being right!
Week 14 In Review
My lineup last week produced great results. By far, it was my best showing of the season, and I don’t have any picks who I am upset to have selected. I did leave Lyle Thompson out of my lineup, and he produced big numbers, but so did everyone else on my team. My overall score of 54.75 is for sure to be not only a top five finisher, but it will help close the gap between myself, 29th as of week eight, and the overall leader.
Callum Crawford is back on track for fantasy owners, recording 18 fantasy lacrosse points over the weekend, and Dane Dobbie continued his revenge tour with a massive 11 fantasy lacrosse points. In goal, Del Bianco, although not the week leader, gave me a solid showing despite his loss to the San Diego Seals. With eight weeks left to play, this was the week I needed to nail and I am happy that I did. Hopefully a lot of you followed my advice and I am not sitting alone at the top when the rankings come out for week 14, and am tied with many others for number one overall.
For more Fantasy Lacrosse coverage, be sure to listen to the Pro Lacrosse Talk podcast every week.
Adam and Hutton’s Epoch Lacrosse Fantasy Locks
Lange’s Lineup
Forwards – Dane Dobbie (CGY), Callum Crawford (NEB) and Shayne Jackson (GEO vs. NYR)
Defense/Transition – Kyle Rubisch (SAS), Graeme Hossack (HFX) and Zach Currier (CGY)
Goalie – Evan Kirk (SAS)
