RADIO
Welcome back, RotoBallers, to another KBO DFS column. Have you caught KBO fever yet? It’s only been a week but I’ve been enjoying these games and digging in deep to research these teams and players for you! I hope you got a good night's rest because we've got another late/early slate tonight/today.
DraftKings and FanDuel will use the same scoring system that they do for MLB, however, the roster builds are much different on FanDuel. You must roster two infielders, two outfielders, and two utility players along with a pitcher for a total of only seven players on FanDuel. DraftKings has kept its normal MLB structure with two starting pitchers and an entire eight-hitter lineup for a total of ten players. Building lineups on each site is going to be very different.
Today, I'll be providing my KBO DFS lineup picks and analysis for this five-game slate on DraftKings and FanDuel that locks at 5:30 AM on Tuesday, May 12, 2020. Both DraftKings and FanDuel have large contests with big top prizes. DraftKings' largest contest has a top prize of $20K to first and FanDuel has a contest with a top prize of $10K to first. Make sure you are also following me @Grownfool on Twitter!
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KBO DFS Pitchers
Strikeout rates are much lower in KBO. An average MLB K% would be among the league leaders in KBO. The lower strikeout numbers make innings and wins much more important for KBO DFS. Most of the league leaders in innings pitched last season were foreign pitchers. Foreign pitchers were quarantined for 14 days after returning in late March. Some have pitched limited innings in their first start. Eric Jokisch only threw 66 pitches in his first start and could be limited to 80-90 pitches today.
Eric Jokisch - KIW Starting P ($8700 DraftKings / $25 FanDuel)
Last season Jokisch averaged more than six innings per start with a 18.9% K rate. Jokisch struck our four in five innings while only allowing one run in his first start. Samsung leads the league in strikeouts so this matchup has K upside even if Jokisch is limited to less than 90 pitches.
Aaron Brooks - Kia Starting P ($7500 DraftKings / $21 FanDuel)
Brooks was outstanding in his KBO debut. In 5 2/3 innings, Brooks struck out six batters with no walks and only gave up one run. Brooks may have been on a pitch count as he only threw 88 pitches in his first start. If he's pitching well, he should pitch deeper into the game.
Other starters to consider are:
- Drew Rucinski - NC Starting P ($9200 DraftKings / $26 FanDuel )
- Odrisamer Despaigne - KT Starting P ($8200 DraftKings / $22 FanDuel)
KBO Top Hitter Stacks
KBO de-juiced the ball last season and power numbers declined. Home runs are way up so far and it looks like the juice is back. Build stacks centered around middle of the order power hitters or top of the order speed. Don't overlook hitters batting sixth and seventh especially in top offenses. Some teams also have hitters with speed batting eighth or ninth that function almost like second leadoff hitters.
Doosan Bears
The Bears home park is the most pitcher-friendly park in KBO. Tonight they hit the road and head to Busan to play the Giants. Won Sam Jang did not appear in an exhibition game and this will be his first start. Jang only made three starts last season and pitched at least five innings in only one of the three. Jang is a lefty as are two of the Bears top power bats. There is some concern with the left on left matchups but the Bears are likely to face the Giants bullpen for most of the game.
Jae Il Oh led the team in HRs last season. Jose Miguel Fernandez has been red hot to start the season and has a 1.455 OPS. Jae Hwan Kim has two HR and hit 15 HRs last season. Kun Woo Park leads off and is a stolen base threat. So far this season he has one HR.
- Jose Miguel Fernandez - 1B/2B ($5200 DraftKings / $16 FanDuel)
- Jae Hwan Kim - 1B/OF ($4500 DraftKings / $13 FanDuel)
- Kun Woo Park - OF ($4200 DraftKings / $13 FanDuel)
- Jae Il Oh - 1B ($3800 DraftKings / $14 FanDuel)
Kia Tigers
Min Woo Kim gave up two HRs in his first start which was his seventh multi HR game since 2018.
Hyung Woo Choi led the team with 17 HRs and has one HR so far this season. Preston Tucker leads the team with 3 HRs including two hit in Sunday's game. Sun Bim Kim bats second or third in the order and has a 1.227 OPS.
- Hyung Woo Choi - 1B/OF ($6000 DraftKings / $14 FanDuel)
- Preston Tucker - OF ($5500 DraftKings / $13 FanDuel)
- Sun Bin Kim - SS ($3600 DraftKings / $13 FanDuel)
Other stacks to consider:
- Lotte Giants
- Kiwoom Heroes
Conclusion
- Starting lineups will not be released until one hour before lock. Note the start time of these contests and be prepared to stay up late or get up early. Most lineups have been close to what we expected for most teams especially the top and middle of the order.
- Go easy on these early in the season slates and have some fun with it. There's going to be a learning curve here for everyone with a new sport like this and you don't want to play more bankroll than you're comfortable with on players you've never heard of before.
- Use familiar MLB DFS strategies like stacking and picking on bad pitchers. Once we get to know these teams better and get more data on hitters and pitchers we should be able to have a better indication of who we want to target on a nightly basis.
- Good luck and have some fun! Just be thankful that baseball, in some form, is back!
More Fantasy Baseball Analysis
