KBO DFS: Spotlight Hitters DraftKings, FanDuel

Well one of the potentially the last weekends for KBO DFS started out a bit flat after two nights of wild action on the offensive side of things. With only 29 runs scored on the slate, fantasy points were at a premium, the 10 teams didn’t even score half as many runs as the night before. Getting to the Dinos and Bears was both the top of the final stacks tool and the highest scoring combination of teams last night. Getting the correct combination of those bats into a winning fantasy lineup was a bit tricky, however.

With Chang-mo Koo posting an expected dominant start for the Dinos it was all about where you went at your second pitcher spot on DraftKings last night. The better than expected game from Hyun-hee Han was a tremendous boost for the KBO DFS players who got to him, benefiting early from his five strikeouts among the first six hitters he faced.

KBO DFS Picks: DraftKings + FanDuel Hitters

Totals fall through the floor tonight with numerous quality pitching options going, so naturally if the baseball gods have anything to say about this one it will be the highest scoring slate of the year to send us out with a bang. Unfortunately, the weather looks about as uncooperative as the sites are with their KBO DFS prize pools. The radar is looking ugly for both the Hanwha at LG and Kiwoom at SK games, and no game on the slate is forecasting completely dry at this point. Keep a close eye on it as we get toward the earlier lock tonight.

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.

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

Hanwha Eagles @ LG Twins – 8.5 run total (3.65/5.06) – Suggested Stack(s): Twins 1-5

This one played to a relatively uneventful 3-1 Twins victory last night that was more important on the pitching side for KBO DFS purposes. Woo-chan Cha was excellent shutting out the Eagles for seven innings, though he only struck out one hitter while allowing five base hits, limiting his DraftKings total somewhat. On the other side Shi-hwan Jang was also mostly effective, striking out six while giving up just two runs on three hits, though he walked four and took the loss. Tonight’s total is one of three game at 9.0 or lower, the appeal even in Twins bats is minimal here. With the added threat of rain this is a tough one to not just cross off entirely.

The Eagles rank last on the stack tool tonight with Casey Kelly taking the mound for the Twins. The import starter has been simply fine lately. His starts don’t come with a huge amount of upside given his 17.6% strikeout rate, but he’s in as good position as anyone to get the win and he doesn’t have to dominate to keep the Eagles lousy offense down. If you’re taking some shares in the lowest ranked stack take a look at Brandon Barnes ($2,100) on DraftKings, he just joined the team and hit cleanup last night, any four-hitter in the league is worth at least a shot at nearly min-price. Eun-won Jung ($9/$3,400) doesn’t do a ton, but he is getting on base at a .370 clip in front of Barnes and Tae-kyun Kim ($7/$3,200) in a tidy little three-man here. If you wanted to get to Ju-suk Ha ($7/$3,900) I wouldn’t necessarily laugh at you and tell you that you suck, but it’s not my favorite. If you want to get weird about catcher on DraftKings in lineups where you plan to use five Eagles bats, I supposed Jae-hoon Choi ($7/$2,600) isn’t crazy, but I don’t see a need to go to him on FanDuel.

The Twins get an implied team total just slightly north of five runs against Warwick Saupold and don’t look to be in as good a spot as last night. KBO DFS owners are taking advantage of cost savings in the current Twins lineup without much regard for the matchup tonight, making this a tricky questionable play to make. The Twins only rank in the middle of the stack tool here and their ownership is approaching twice what their probability of success looks like. Saupold doesn’t strike out many hitters at all, but he also excels at keeping the ball in the yard. Without their power the Twins run scoring ability is shaky. If you’re going to this team, I would consider doing so with the intent to still be under the public exposure on guys like Roberto Ramos ($15/$4,600) who is approaching 40% popularity with his pricing on FanDuel. Hyung-jong Lee ($5/3,400) went 0-4 after getting a name drop here last night, but his price and spot in the batting order deserves your attention again today. Hyun-soo Kim ($16/$4,500) looks solid in projections, though he is well below his normal mark in my home run model today. In a game where we expect offense to be driven by base hits, it makes sense to pay attention to the tablesetters at the top of the lineup in both Ji-hwan Oh ($10/$3,600) and Chun-woong Lee ($10/$2,800), although deciding to limit the amount of lineups in which you use them both could help you differentiate your builds some here.

KT Wiz @ NC Dinos – 10.5 run total (5.50/5.22) – Suggested Stack(s): Wiz 2-3-4-6-7

The Dinos tied for the highest score of the night in a 6-1 victory of the Wiz. Chang-mo Koo was excellent striking out 10 and holding the Wiz to just two hits in his seven innings of shutout ball. The Wiz stole a late run on a ninth inning pinch-hit home run off the Dinos bullpen to avoid getting blanked for the game.

Tonight’s game sees a bit of a role reversal, with the Wiz taking on Jae-hak Lee who has been struggling to find a groove in 2020. Lee hasn’t been good at striking out hitters or limiting opportunity, there’s nothing to like on the pitching side with him and he should allow the Wiz to get things rolling. The 5.50 implied team total is the second highest on what Vegas expects to be a low-scoring KBO DFS slate and the Wiz bats are in play here, coming in second on both sites in the stack tool. Jae-gyun Hwang ($12/$5,600) delivers solid value on FanDuel, though he and Mel Rojas Jr. ($18/$6,300) will be the two most popular players on this team on both sites. The quality late in this lineup is still underappreciated. Jeong-dae Bae ($13/$3,200) and Kyung-soo Park ($9/$3,100) make sound options on the bottom-end of Wiz stacks here. Park is quietly having a nice season at .286/.390/.463 with 8 home runs and 36 RBIs in his 210 plate appearances. The 36-year-old hit 82 home runs from 2015-2019 and is ahead of the pace that saw him only hit 10 in the de-juiced ball year last season.

The Dinos draw Odrisamer Despaigne tonight in a tougher matchup. The righty has been pitching relatively well with a 4.18 FIP that is in-line with his earned run average and he’s been able to limit opportunities. The strikeout rate leaves something to be desired, but his quality is enough to keep the Dinos implied total somewhat in check but the weak slate surrounding them keeps them well in play. The Dinos rank near the middle of the stack tool but look under-owned on both sites. Only Eui-ji Yang ($12/$5,500) is projected for significant ownership on DraftKings, pulling over 25%. All the other hitters on this team are under 10% owned, including Sung-bum Na ($16/$5,500) whose price has fallen slightly from its recent apex, as well as excellent leadoff hitting second baseman Min-woo Park ($12/$4,900). Myung-gi Lee ($9/$3,200) is a workable option hitting second, but he’s not my favorite bat on this team. There is more quality in guys like Suk-mi Park ($10/$4,100) who you can get cheaper and in a potentially better RBI spot.

Lotte Giants @ Samsung Lions – 8.5 run total (4.37/4.31) – Suggested Stack(s): Giants 3-5

A 5-2 Lions win became a bit of a relevant game for KBO DFS purposes, with the widely owned and mostly inexpensive Lions doing just enough to be involved on a low-scoring night. Home runs from both Sung-gon and Sung-gyu Lee late in this lineup proved to be the difference, while Ben Lively pitched well in his return.

With a game total that ties for the slate’s lowest and two of the KBO’s best pitchers going tonight, offense is going to be in very short supply here. The Lions total is pushed well below 4.5 against Dan Straily, who has the KBO’s second best strikeout rate at 25.7%. The Lions rank near the bottom of the stack tool on both sites and they aren’t a play I’m looking to advocate here. Ja-wook Koo ($11/$4,300), Dong-yeop Kim ($8/$3,100) and Won-seok Lee ($9/$3,600) as a three-man is probably the most likely stack to do anything here, but everyone who plays this team will do that. Not that that will be many people. Get different by adding Hak-ju Lee ($8/$4,300) later in the lineup and either Sung-gon Lee ($6/$2,700) or Sung-gyu Lee ($8/$3,100) depending on what positioning helps you more.

The Giants don’t look much better than the Lions in this one and we should be in for a heck of a pitcher’s duel. David Buchanan has been cruising for the Lions for most of the KBO season and shouldn’t have a ton of trouble with the Giants lineup. Vegas agrees and the Giants’ implied team total is also well below 4.5 runs. They rank slightly better than the Lions nearing the middle of the stack tool, but their probability of being the best option is still quite low. The bats to get to are our usual favorites near the heart of this order. Ah-seop Son ($15/$4,100) and Jun-woo Jeon ($13/$4,200) fill two outfield spots well and you can plug Dae-ho Lee ($12/$3,900) in between them at not too bad a price. The opportunity and projections for the bottom of the lineup are extremely limited in the low total spot, putting any thoughts of the Min wraparound play mostly out of my head. If you can make positioning work, Chi-hong An ($10/$3,000) deserves attention despite his struggles.

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Doosan Bears @ Kia Tigers – 10.5 run total (5.79/4.94) – Suggested Stack(s): Bears 1-2-3-4-6

The Bears were the top ranked stack in the final update of the night last night and looked great coming into their matchup with Ki-hoon Kim. They didn’t disappoint, tying for the night’s highest total with a 6-0 win. The Tigers bats were silenced over five innings by Won-joon Choi who got quality support from his bullpen the rest of the way.

The Bears have the night’s highest implied team total once again tonight and they look like a strong play against Min-woo Lee. Lee’s FIP 4.57 is slightly better than his earned run average, but there’s nothing to get excited about. The Bears should have no problem getting to a pitcher like this. They rank at the top of standings on both sites and are drawing appropriate if not slightly favorable ownership. Their prices and positioning are always tricky, but these are the bats to own once again tonight. Jae-won Oh ($7/$2,500) and Kyung-min Hur ($10/$4,200) are playable from later in this lineup and can help get to different combinations of bats like Jose Miguel Fernandez ($17/$5,500) and Jae-il Oh ($14/$4,200) who remains too cheap by a fair amount given his talent. Outfielder Soo-bin Jung ($9/$2,700) is in play in limited amounts from the bottom of the lineup, either as a differentiation option ending late-lineup stacks or as a wrap-around to the top of the batting order.

The Tigers total slips below five runs tonight in their matchup against Young-ha Lee. Lee hasn’t been stellar this season but is probably better than what we’ve seen. The Tigers are a bit overly popular tonight on FanDuel, for a team that ranks in the middle of the stack tool. Oddly, they are going slightly under-owned from a similar spot on DraftKings. Hyung-woo Choi ($15/$4,900) saw his price drop slightly on DraftKings and he looks like a great option again. Min-sang Yoo ($7/$2,900) is in play from the fifth spot in this lineup and Ji-wan Na ($11/$3,700) looks good in Awesemo’s projections. The bottom of this lineup is a bit of a black hole for fantasy points tonight, however. There’s not a lot to get to below Yoo, but if you need salary savings or positional differentiation you can stick Joo-hwan Na ($6/$2,200) in and hope for the best.

Kiwoom Heroes @ SK Wyverns – 9.0 run total (4.93/4.27) – Suggested Stack(s): Heroes 1-2-3-4-6

The Heroes rode a solo shot from Byung-ho Park and a three-run home run from Ha-seong Kim to a 4-1 victory last night. The game was more important for the Heroes than it probably was for KBO DFS owners on the offensive side. Both starting pitchers posted good games, with Kiwoom’s Hyun-hee Han deciding to become a strikeout artist for a night, wiping out seven Wyverns hitters.

This is our third game with a total of nine runs or lower tonight and both teams are carrying implied totals under five. The Heroes are the favorites again here and are getting the better share of runs. They land in the top half of the stack tool and there’s always quality in play with this team. The power of Byung-ho Park ($12/$5,000) puts him on the board for every slate and the trio of Keon-chang Seo ($13/$5,100), Ha-seong Kim ($17/$6,300), and Jung-hoo Lee ($16/$5,200) ahead of him in the projected lineup looks excellent here. The only issue is that Park will be approaching 40% ownership on FanDuel. He is far more playable on DraftKings, while the rest of the Heroes look reasonable from a popularity perspective on both sites. Hye-sung Kim ($9/$3,900) has quality late in the lineup but the spot is a bit shaky and if he’s popular I like getting to other people in this lineup instead. Catcher Ji-young Lee ($7/$3,100) makes a quality option on DraftKings tonight as part of this stack carrying just 15% popularity.

The Wyverns will be without Jeong Choi who landed on the injured list last night. The bats are diminished by his absence and this team falls to nearly the bottom of the stack tool for this slate. They look far too popular on FanDuel, which is likely a product if their salary value. The power in Dong-min Han’s ($8/$4,000) bat is a significant value at his price and Jamie Romak ($12/$4,400) offers something similar protecting him in this lineup. The rest of these bats get bumpy fast though. If you want to work your way down to Jong-wook Ko ($6/$3,500) in various configurations that would be as far down the lineup as I’m comfortable going here. Tae-in Chae ($6/$2,000) is minimum price on DraftKings, which can provide significant salary relief as part of a second stack to help get to a better overall build.