KBO DFS: Spotlight Hitters DraftKings, FanDuel

Well tonight’s going to be a weird slate. With the Doosan vs Hanwha game raining out in the third inning last night and expected to resume Sunday afternoon in a partial double-header thing are all over the place. FanDuel is starting their slate at 3:00 A.M. EST and including all five games, scoring the second Doosan vs. Hanwha game. DraftKings is starting their slate at 4:00 A.M. and excluding both of tonight’s Doosan vs. Hanwha games entirely.

Adding to the confusion is that MyKBO has all five games listed for a 4:00 A.M. start and there are no published lines for the game that Doosan vs. Hanwha game. MyKBO and the Korean-language site that we check via Google Translate are yet to post starting pitchers for the second game, so we’ll be making some educated guesses.

Amidst all of this, Hanwha is still chasing history. If they drop the game, they were already trailing 4-3 in the bottom of the third they will set the all-time mark for KBO futility with 19-straight losses and now they might hilariously get to 20 on the same day.

KBO DFS Picks: DraftKings + FanDuel Hitters

We do have some nice big game totals to work with in a couple that will be played on both sites, so there are things left to like about tonight’s slate. Some quality pitching match-ups to choose from should also help keep things interesting.

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 (4:00 A.M. DraftKings / 3:00 A.M. FanDuel), official lineups have not been released, so be sure to double-check status before you plug players into your lineup.

Kia Tigers @ SK Wyverns – 9.0 run total (5.15/4.05) – Suggested Stack: Tigers 1-3-4-5-6

These two teams played a tight 2-1 ball game last night, with quality pitching performances on both sides. The Tigers managed to squeeze out a victory despite a superior eight strikeout pitching performance from Wyverns’ starter Seung-won Moon. Moon was a fixture in lineups at the top of GPP standings in KBO DFS last night.

Tonight’s game has a low nine run total, but the Tigers are strong favorites and getting most of the implied runs. The Wyverns starter has had difficulty making it late into games, giving the Tigers a great opportunity to crack into a weak KBO bullpen early in the game. With the Tigers disappointing KBO DFS players last night they might be a bit less popular than they should be here. I’ll be rolling them out there again and I love the looks of Awesemo’s projection on Preston Tucker ($17/$5,700) at only 10% ownership on DraftKings. At double that on FanDuel he’s less appealing, but still makes a fine option as part of a Tigers stack. Ji-wan Na ($9/$3,800) will be similarly owned and a great power option. Like with the Twins’ Bob Ramos and Dinos’ Sung-bum Na, I’m going to keep mentioning this Na here until his prices go up. Catcher Seung-taek Han ($6/$3,800) is a weak bat best to be avoided late in this lineup despite positional requirements.

The Wyverns are saddled with a very low total, just barely over four runs, facing high quality Tigers starter Hyun-jong Yang. Yang has been a good KBO strikeout option through his career, but his numbers in that statistic are down significantly so far in 2020, plummeting from 22% of hitters last season to 16% so far this year. Still, Yang makes it work, sitting at 5-1 with a respectable 4.18 FIP and he should have minimal issues dispatching the Wyverns here. The offense ranks at the bottom of the stacks tool and the only bats worth discussing are the chalky ones in the middle. If you wanted to play leadoff hitter Soo-kwang Noh ($6/$2,600) along with the heart of this order I could support that, build down to Eui-Yoon Jeong, tonight’s home run pick from this lineup, if you’re going with a full stack of Wyverns.

KT Wiz @ Samsung Lions –10.5 run total (5.21/5.55) – Suggested Stack: Wiz 1-3-4-5-6

The Lions bested the Wiz in last night’s first game which counted for KBO DFS players, before the Wiz took the late-night affair in a 7-4 win. In the game we cared about the Wiz got home runs from Baek-ho Kang ad Mel Rojas, but nothing else, falling 5-3 to a Lions team that rode home runs by Tyler Saladino and Min-ho Kang. Rojas added another dinger in the second game, bringing his total to 12 for the season.

Lions’ pitcher Won-tae Im has been pitching over his head so far this season. His 4.53 FIP exposes his 2.68 earned run average as the product of luck and defensive play and his 7.1% strikeout-to-walk ratio (K:BB%) ranks 30^th in the league among 40 qualified starters. This is a good spot to target with bats if you look beyond the basic stat-line. The Wiz are among the top stacks on both sites tonight, but they might go slightly under in public exposure. The focus of the public is of course on Mel Rojas Jr. ($16/$5,600), although I wouldn’t be stunned to see him sit tonight after playing both games yesterday. Just speculation. The other bats in this lineup will be far less popular. I like getting to some of the top of the lineup with Woo-jun Sim ($10/$3,700) and Yong-ho Jo ($8/$2,900) who has cooled the last few days after a nice run. Baek-ho Kang ($16/$6,000) is a great bat that will be popular in the middle of this lineup.

With all that, the Lions are the favorites in this one. 18-year-old rookie starter Hyeong-jun So has gotten knocked around so far this year, posting just two quality starts in six tries. His 5.13 FIP is in-line with the earned runs and his 2.8% K:BB% ranks 36^th out of 40. Both teams in this game are likely to smash tonight, but the Lions side looks like it will be too popular for my taste. It’s a great spot but when I’m eating a ton of chalk, I like the lineup to be better than this one in general. That said, the Lions have put up a few big totals of late, so bats like Ja-wook Koo ($9/$4,800) and Tyler Saladino ($8/$4,500) are in play once again. Building down from Sang-su Kim ($9/$5,000) atop this lineup is a popular but high-quality approach here. I would consider a different catcher than Min-ho Kang ($7/$3,600) on DraftKings to play this stack differently, but he’s a quality bat late in the lineup at a mandatory position.

Lotte Giants @ LG Twins – 9.0 run total (4.28/4.91) – Suggested Stack: Twins 8-1-2-3-5

These two teams had a 7-6 shootout last night, with Jun-woo Jeon contributing a home run to Lotte’s victory, and most of the bats in the heart of the Giants lineup contributing for KBO DFS players who got to them. The Twins got most of their runs from low-owned Byon-hyeok Koo at the bottom of their lineup.

Tonight, the total in this one drops with both teams implied for under five runs. Two import starters on the mound are the reason for the suppressed totals, with Adrian Sampson going for the visiting Giants and Casey Kelly taking the hill for the Twins. Kelly has been up and down this season, but it’s tough to recommend the Giants bats with any real passion here. On the limited DraftKings slate they’ll basically be mandatory to some degree, as will all the teams if you’re playing a full slate of lineups. Dixon Machado ($10/$3,800) is getting ignored enough that he’s a good way to make the chalkier parts of this lineup into a unique stack. I would try to include another low-owned bat like Dae-ho Lee ($10/$3,600), who hits in the middle of this order and is one of the KBO’s all-time home run leaders.

The Twins are diminished tonight by both the match-up and the loss of Bob Ramos’ bat in the heart of the order. The low run total has projections down across the board and this team ranks near the bottom of the stack tool on both sites. On FanDuel there could be a bit of an ownership edge if you’re feeling risky. Getting to the top-half of whatever lineup the Twins end up rolling out will be lower-owned than normal, so there’s quality to be had even in a bad spot. Leadoff hitter Chun-woong Lee ($9/$3,300), Hyun-soo Kim ($14/$5,100), and Eun-sung Chae ($11/$3,100) are still reliable veteran bats with great price tags, making this a sneaky three-man stack to deploy. Kang-nam Yoo ($8/$3,800) might be a good place to make that catcher stand we mentioned earlier, if you’re building Twins stacks on DraftKings.

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Doosan Bears @ Hanwha Eagles – ? run total (?/?) – Suggested Stack: Bears pick ‘em

The Bears were leading 4-3 when this one was suspended in the third inning last night, so the Eagles will either come into the late game that only counts on FanDuel as either the all-time most futile KBO team or having just snapped their record tying losing streak. Should be interesting for KBO DFS players either way.

I tried to wait out the pitching match-up and the line on this one, but nothing official has been released yet. Based on what one site has, the match-up might be Won-jun Jang against Warwick Saupold. This would diminish the Bears bats slightly and probably suppress the total to under 10 runs. I would still favor the Bears here, but it would be closer than under other circumstances.

I would expect the Bears to still be popular on FanDuel, despite the confusion with the game timing. The three primary bats in the middle of this lineup (Oh, Fernandez, Kim) are always in play, and you can attach Kun-woo Park ($11) from the leadoff spot most days.

As matchups go, if the Eagles do get Jang here, they could do a lot worse. The veteran pitcher only threw two KBO innings last year and hasn’t been good since 2017. But the Eagles are still the Eagles, so temper expectations. My home run model suggests that Jared Hoying ($9) and Tae-Kyun Kim ($7) could do some damage here, and if you want to add a third bat to your stack Yong-kyu Lee ($8) from the leadoff spot is viable.

Kiwoom Heroes @ NC Dinos – 12.0 run total (5.83/6.43) – Suggested Stack: Dinos 3-7

Wow, Dinos haven’t been crushed like that since an asteroid 65 million years ago. The Heroes jumped all over the Dinos last night, pounding them for a whopping 18 runs. The Heroes were the absolute mandatory play for KBO DFS success last night with big performances from all their relevant bats.

Tonight, we get an even weaker pitching matchup and dueling big implied team totals. A lot of KBO DFS players might end up game stacking this one and calling it a night. The Heroes will be facing Jin-ho Kim, a 22-year-old making his KBO debut. This looks like a smash spot for the powerful Heroes lineup. They rank second to only their opponent in the top stack tool for both sites. This lineup will be popular up and down on DraftKings tonight. Getting to projected nine-hitter Joon-tae Park ($7/$2,100) or Gyun-min Kim ($5/$2,100) gets you different and less expensive in a hurry, but they’re both unappealing at the bottom of this lineup. You’re playing the variance there and looking to it to help you build a unique GPP-winning lineup though, so it might be worth biting the bullet. FanDuel offers far more room, with Dong-won Park ($10/$4,900) under 10% ownership again, and Keon-chang Seo ($11/$3,700) at a playable 11%.

The Dinos are once again my favorite spot of the night on DraftKings. Ranking at the top of Awesemo’s top stacks tool but drawing less ownership than they should be, this is the ideal spot to jam them in as many lineups as possible. Within reason of course, don’t go overboard and get your exposures out of whack just because I was a bit hyperbolic there. With the highest implied team total on the DraftKings slate, bats like Suk-min Park ($10/$5,100), Jin-sung Kang ($14/$4,500), and Aaron Altherr ($16/$5,100) all received a price bump but are all going to be under 10% owned. I love all three of those options, and you can mix and match Dinos bats up and down this lineup. Pay attention to what the Dinos do with Eui-ji Yang tonight, we might see the catcher get the day off, which would shake things up for KBO DFS players.