KBO DFS: Spotlight Hitters DraftKings, FanDuel

Well, so much for the amateur meteorological skills. I was just one of many KBO DFS players trying to figure out the Dinos vs. Eagles game’s weather going into lock last night. Late reports from the team at MYKBO indicated clear-enough skies, while everything on the various weather-focused services was looking awful. I decided to lay off and missed out, because the Dinos absolutely went off yet again.

A fair amount of the Dinos production came from the bottom of the lineup, so it took unique constructions to fully capitalize, but enough of the chalky NC bats went well over value, making them essential. The popular star pitcher Chang-mo Koo, however, was broadly owned and delivered only a good game, not an exceptional one. Getting to other starters along with the weird Dinos bats from the bottom of the lineup last night was the key to a GPP win.

KBO DFS Picks: DraftKings + FanDuel Hitters

Odds-makers have the overall run totals back up across the board, so tonight should offer more opportunities to get different with bats. With four of the five games over 10.5 runs, and some mediocre pitching going, we’re due for some fireworks. We could have some good opportunities for leverage in the stacks tool as well, I’ll try to hit some of the highlights.

The bulk of this analysis comes directly from reviewing Awesemo’s KBO DFS projections and the top stacks tool. Check out the rest of our KBO content, Awesemo’s projections, rankings, and ownership on the site for all your KBO DFS needs.

As usual, I’m going to look game by game, calling out a hitter or two from each team, and giving some top stacking options as we go. Pricing and popularity will be considered, more so as KBO DFS trends begin to emerge over the coming weeks. The numbers included with Suggested Stack are the projected lineup positions I would target for stacking that team, but do not restrict yourself exclusively to those spots. For example, if it says Wyverns 3-6 it means 3,4,5,6 in the projected lineup. If it says 1-2-3-5 it means those guys. If it means a two-man it will say so. I’m also going to start trying to include positions more, hopefully it helps speed up the process of finding guys as you build lineups.

With lock still hours away (4:00am), official lineups have not been released, so be sure to double-check status before you plug players into your lineup.

Kia Tigers @ Doosan Bears – 10.5 run total (5.17/5.56) – Suggested Stack: Tigers 1-5 (DK) / Bears 1-2-3-5 (FD)

The Tigers came out of the gate hot in the first inning last night with two early runs. The offense hit the skids from there, picking up only one run the rest of the way in a 4-3 loss. The Tigers pick up a good-looking spot tonight. The stack ranks fourth in the top stacks tool, and they’re looking under-owned on both sites. The advantage is starker on DraftKings, where ownership is about half of their probability of being the top stack. Awesemo’s projections like the Tigers bats here, and my homer model is bullish on Ji-wan Na ($9/$3.6k) and Hyung-woo Choi ($11/$5.6k). Na is hovering around 20% ownership on both sites, but Choi and the rest of these bats are all below 10%. The Tigers should be good for three-man and full stacks tonight, and I like the idea of getting to some un-owned Min-sang Yoo ($7/$3.6k) as part of that either way. Go up to the top of the lineup with your KBO DFS picks here, you should be able to mix and match your way to enough differentiation.

The Bears had a mostly unexciting four-run performance last night. Without any home runs and with limited contributions from the primary hitters in the lineup, they were hardly essential. Tonight, it might be a different story. The Bears have a run total in the top half of this slate, and they’re facing Ki-young Im, who has harnessed his control to this point in 2020 but is so far outreaching his expectation that he remains a good pitcher to target. The Bears are the opposite of the the Tigers here, with the ownership leverage coming on FanDuel more than DraftKings. I like the move on both sites though, and the Bears salary and positional value are still in play. The ownership discrepancy on Joo-hwan Choi ($11/$2.6k) is staggering, with the infielder pulling nearly 20% on DraftKings but only five percent on FanDuel. That’s a spot I think you should hammer on the blue site. The fact that none of the Bears are over 10% ownership projection makes it a great look to snap together a full stack here. I think I want to get some Soo-bin Jung ($7/$2.6k) into Bears stacks if he’s in the lineup. The speedy outfielder is dealing with a foot injury, but he made an appearance to lay down a bunt late in the game last night and is in the projected lineup. His wheels and on-base skills haven’t been on display much, but if he’s healthy enough to play he could produce as a table-setter with no one else on him.

KT Wiz @ Lotte Giants – 10.5 run total (6.47/4.31) – Suggested Stack: Wiz: 1-5

What a pitching duel this one turned out to be last night. Both starters were assets for KBO DFS players, with Bae twirling eight shutout and Straily answering with seven of his own. The Giants eventually walked it off on a single in the ninth for a 1-0 victory. There aren’t going to be many points on the offensive side of a game like that, but tonight’s total for the Wiz is way up and is second highest on the slate. The Wiz drop into the two-spot in the top stacks tool, but they’re looking just a touch too popular. There’s plenty of upside here, so that’s probably going to prove to be good chalk. Playing Wiz stacks but getting to different constructions is the approach here. Jeong-dae Bae ($10/$2.8k) is criminally under-owned at under three percent on FanDuel. He’s a quality bat hitting at the top of one of the best lineups of the night. Get him in with some of the heart of the order. If Jae-gyun Hwang ($12/$5.4k) is hitting seventh he’s “fine,” but I’m not sure I love him with 30% ownership at that point in the order. That’s a spot I might look to get different, play have the field and snap in the less popular options.

Odrisamer Despaigne has been dealing so far in his KBO career, and Vegas has his Wiz as the favorites here. The run total for the Giants is down in this match-up, and they rank at the bottom of Awesemo’s top stacks. Really there are better spots to go for your KBO DFS picks tonight, but not many people will be here if you’re determined to play Giants. A lot of red and yellow up and down the conditionally formatted projections column tells me there’s not much to love, so if you’re going this way stick to the quality bats at the top. Byung-hun Min ($9/$3.7k) through Chi-Hon An ($9/$2.6k) as a straight five-man stack would be my approach to this team, but it’s not my spot.

LG Twins @ Kiwoom Heroes – 11.0 run total (5.41/5.83) – Suggested Stack: Twins 1-5 (DK) / Heroes 2-5 (FD)

Eun-sung Chae didn’t go last night, and it will be important to keep an eye on him as we approach lock once again. It’s frustrating to deal with the Twins without being sure of the outfielder’s status, with his critical role in the lineup, and the impact his absence has on the batting order. As of writing this it looks like Awesemo is operating from the guess that they give him another day off on the last day of the week, and I agree, it make sense with the idea of getting him right for Tuesday. If he’s in the lineup, so much the better. With Bob Ramos in half of all lineups on both sites we’re staring at the exact same decision as we’ve been faced with. Really, we need him to go into a tragic slump, so people stop playing the guy. He’s in a great spot again and is Awesemo’s highest projected individual on the slate. The Twins are right where they should be in terms of the upper-middle of the top stacks tool and around 10% team ownership on both sites. Heroes’ starter Hyun-hee Han has been good and bad in alternating years in his career, so it’s difficult to tell what we’re getting. When he’s off he tends to give up the long ball as well as a lot of gap power. This plays directly into the Twins wheelhouse. I think there’s upside in this lineup and getting pieces like Y.T Park ($11/$2.2k) and Min-sung Kim ($9/$3.9k) in your stack can help with the ownership.

Kiwoom superstar Byung-ho Park ($12/$4.8k) is soaking up another 50% ownership share on FanDuel. He’s around half of that, and more playable, on DraftKings. I think I would make it a point to avoid having both him and Ramos in my lineups on FanDuel, and I’m not a big fan of game-stacking in general. The Heroes rank third on FanDuel but fifth on DraftKings and look a bit popular on both. Outside of Park and Ha-seong Kim ($15/$5.9k), the rest of these bats won’t be too trendy, so you can mix in a few guys like Dong-won Park ($10/$4.3k) and three-hitter Jung-hoo Lee ($14/$5.0k) and be different enough. Twins starter Woo-chan Cha is a capable veteran who is one of the better strikeout options for KBO DFS players, so this could be a boom or bust spot for both sides of the Heroes’ match-up tonight.

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NC Dinos @ Hanwha Eagles – 11.0 run total (6.83/4.46) – Suggested Stack: Dinos – pick ‘em

If I can paraphrase 90’s one-hit wonders Blind Melon for a moment:

And I don’t understand why I sleep all day
And I start to complain that there’s no rain
And all I can do is watch some games to stay awake
KBO rips my life away but it’s a great escape

This one hurt a bit last night with the waterworks holding off, but at least a lot of the damage came from bats I’m not sure I would have had enough of to get to the necessary constructions. Fortunately, it looks like great weather across the board, so we’re right back on the Dinos again tonight. They’re pulling the highest implied total on the slate at nearly seven, and there’s a ton to love up and down the lineup. To steal a thought from our pal “Gottagetthiswiin” in Slack chat, I could see the Dinos sitting star catcher Eui-ji Yang ($14/$6.1k) tonight to end the week and get him fresh for Tuesday. This is based on typical catcher utilization and the fact that Yang has played every game the last two weeks. With the team rolling and an off day tomorrow it just seems to make sense. Keep an eye out. Yang or no Yang, these guys should smash. KBO DFS owners can combine Dinos any way they like, they’re the top ranked team in the stacks tool but will be highly popular, so be sure to reserve a bat or two for a lower-owned guy, or make sure to use them along with an offbeat second stack. I like some Min-woo Park ($12/$4.8k), Sung-bum Na ($17/$5.7k), and Suk-min Park ($10/$5.0k) here, but so do most.

Jae-hak Lee has been a weak point in the dominant Dinos rotation so far this year, but he’s got a lot more in his right arm than we’ve seen so far. The career numbers are KBO-strong, and this is a guy who has been a full-time starter for long time. He has some strikeout upside against the Eagles here, and it’s going to be a lot to ask of them to get anything going from the second-lowest implied total on the slate. They’re better than the spot last night, so extending beyond Seung-yol Lee ($9/$3.5k) is workable, but the Eagles are in the bottom-half of the stack rankings. Eun-won Jung ($8/$5.1k) and Tae-kyun Kim ($7/$3.5k) fit in well there, but it’s not a spot I like without any leverage.

Samsung Lions @ SK Wyverns – 9.5 run total (4.92/4.78) – Suggested Stack:

The Lions dropped one to the Wyverns last night that they were never really in. The final score made it look closer than the game seemed, with the Wyverns hanging on to a 6-4 victory in the end. The Lions are favored tonight, but that has a lot to do with starter David Buchanan. The spot against the Wyvern’s shaky starter isn’t bad, but there’s not a lot of appeal either. The lowest game total on the slate by a full run has both teams in the bottom half of stacks. Tyler Saladino ($8/$4.2k) doesn’t project well at all again tonight, but KBO DFS owners will have to consider him if looking at the Lions. He’s going to be untouched, so if he does anything for you it’s all gravy. The question is if you can land on that miraculous night where he does do something. Sung-gyu Lee ($9/$3.0k) hitting sixth is in play here too, I don’t mind a three-man building from four through six.

The Wyverns power came through last night with Jamie Romak mashing another homer, but otherwise there were no real standout performances in the lineup. Taking on David Buchanan tonight they look even worse. If you want to play the same options as last night that could be a way to go (Romak, Choi, Noh, Jeong), and you can bolt-on someone like Jin-gi Jeong ($9/$3.9k) if you’re going full-stack.