Two crazy weeks of Player Royale have passed and, in short, we have all learned some things. Outside of the Chrome stepping up to a whole new level and the Redwoods struggling to remember who they are, the most important thing that we learned these first couple weeks is…Trevor Baptiste is the only player you need in your lineup consistently. Let’s break down week two of the Premier Lacrosse League’s Player Royale challenge!
Top Players of PLL Week 2
The Atlas had another jaw dropping week of lacrosse and that shows with not one, but two Atlas stars topping the leaderboard of this week’s top performers. Baptiste found the net once again this week on top of winning 20 of his 24 faceoffs, bringing him to a total of 34 fanatsy points on the week. Chris Gray was not far behind him though, earning 30 fantasy points for a performance highlighted by two goals and three assists. CJ Costabile slid into the third position with 28.6 fantasy points after a three-for-three day shooting (which included a pair of two-point goals) as well as winning two of his three faceoffs. Jay Carlson was tight behind him in the fourth spot by a mere 0.6 fantasy points, recording 28 fantasy points on the back of five goals and an assist. Finally, rounding out our top five is Logan Wisnauskas, who also had five goals that accounted for all but one of the 26 fantasy points in his week two performance.
Notable Standouts from PLL Week 2
What a week from the specialists! We saw Baptiste take the top spot for the week (Nardella barely missed the top 10) and there were three goalies that made the top 25 (Sean Sconone, Jack Concannon and Matt DeLuca). Two rookies (Chris Gray and Logan Wisnauskas) broke through this week and cracked into the top five as well. It is nice to see all of these new faces at the top (minus Baptiste, of course). Hopefully, there is a decent amount of shuffling around in the top 10 and even top five, from week to week.
Defensive Performances from PLL Week 2
Week two brought about some interesting numbers defensively. The Chrome’s defensive performance resulted in -0.4 fantasy points for the Redwoods offense and that is all that needs to be said about how that game went. The worst defensive unit of the week was amazingly not the Redwoods, but the Cannons. They gave up 154 fantasy points to the offensive beast that is the Atlas.
On the other side of the coin, it is no surprise to see that the Chrome’s defensive unit had a “nice” performance this week scoring 69 fantasy points. They are the league leader in both categories, only allowing an average of 46.3 fantasy points per game and scoring an average of 53.5 fantasy points per game through these first couple weeks. The Chrome’s Michael Manley was the top scoring defenseman of the week, taking the seventh spot on the leaderboard with 23 points.
Two-point goals were the highlight of week one and they made a significant difference this week as well, propelling CJ Costabile into the top three. Baptiste has set the league on fire and that is no different for the Player Royale leaderboards. If averaging just over 30 fantasy points a week doesn’t earn him a spot in your lineup, nothing will. As far as how the league is looking after the second week of games, Jeff Teat falls in behind Baptiste at number two in fantasy points scored this season with 53. Chris Gray and Nick Marrocco are tied for third with 43 fantasy points each. It seems as though the Atlas are the clear path to Player Royale victory this season.
Week three should be full of excitement. Is Trevor Baptiste the favorite for MVP? Can anyone beat the Chrome’s stout defense? Who will finish as the best goalie in the league? Make sure to listen to The Fantasy Lacrosse Podcast wherever you get your podcasts and follow us on Twitter @FantasyLacrosse. Don’t forget to set your lineups as well as challenge your friends to week three of the Premier Lacrosse League’s Player Royale!
