RADIO
Welcome back, RotoBallers, to another KBO DFS column. Have you caught KBO fever yet? Our first slate went, well, as baseball slates tend to go! One chalky pitcher busted and one of my favorite stacks was ho-hum. But the process was solid, and that's what matters. It's only day two of KBO DFS and we still have a lot to learn, but if you're willing to grind every day you'll be rewarded!
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 Wednesday, May 6, 2020. Both DraftKings and FanDuel have large contests with big top prizes. Fanduel has another contest with a top prize of $20K to first. DraftKings has upped the top prize in its largest contest to $50K to first. Make sure you are also following me @Grownfool on Twitter! Lineups aren't released until one hour before lock and I'll be tweeting them out as they come in.
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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.
Some foreign pitchers could have their innings limited as not all of them are stretched out. After pre-season games were canceled in mid-March, most foreign pitchers returned home and had to quarantine for 14 days upon return. Eric Jokisch only threw 44 pitches in his exhibition start and could be limited to five innings or less.
Mike Wright - NC Starting P ($7700 DraftKings / $24 FanDuel)
This will be Wright's KBO debut. In a four-inning KBO exhibition game start, Wright struck out four and only gave up one run. As an Oriole, Wright's HR/9 and HR/FB were much lower on the road. After being traded the Mariners, Wright did not give up any HRs in five home appearances. Daegu Samsung Lions Park is slightly larger than T-Mobile Park in Seattle which should help Wright keep the ball in the yard.
Aaron Brooks - Kia Starting P ($7200 DraftKings / $21 FanDuel)
Brooks is another foreign starter making his KBO debut after a solid exhibition game start. Brooks struck out four and only gave up one run on four hits and no walks in four innings. In 18 starts split between the Athletics and Orioles, Brooks had a 17% K rate and 12.5% HR/FB. As we saw yesterday, Kiwoom is one of the top offenses in the league so there's definitely some risk here.
Ricardo Pinto ($4000 DraftKings) and Jun Won Seo ($5100 DraftKings)
If you're not stacking against Pinto or Seo, this is where you should look for your second pitcher on DraftKings. Seo gave up ten homers in 97 innings last season with a 1.6 WHIP and 13.5% K rate. This is Pinto's first KBO start after a rough exhibition start where he walked five and gave up three runs. In 24 appearances with the Rays AAA club last season, Pinto had a 18.8 HR/FB% and up 18 HRs. Munhak Stadium is the most hitter-friendly park in KBO so there is definitely some HR risk here.
Eun Bum Song and Jeon Seop Im are also minimum priced on DraftKings. Song is likely the first pitcher up in what should be a bullpen game for the LG Twins. Casey Kelly and Tyler Wilson's starts have been pushed back due to quarantine which is also why Cha started yesterday. Im only had one start last season of at least five innings.
Other starters worth a look for GPPs are:
- Ben Lively - Samsung Starting P ($6300 DraftKings / $23 FanDuel)
- Young Ha Lee ($8900 DraftKings / $26 FanDuel)
KBO Top Hitter Stacks
KBO de-juiced the ball last season and power numbers declined. Building stacks around power hitters will be the key to success in KBO DFS. The best stacks are less likely to be straight 1-4 hitters and more likely to be something less traditional like skipping over multiple hitters in the order.
Lotte Giants
The opposing pitcher for the Dinos is William Cuevas who gave up 18 HRs last season including four multi-HR games. The top three in the order for the Giants, Byung Heon Min, Joon Woo Jeon, and Ah Seop Son, all have power and speed and are a threat to steal a base, hit a home run, or both.
- Byung Heon Min - C ($4500 DraftKings / $11 FanDuel)
- Joon Woo Jeon - OF ($4000 DraftKings / $14 FanDuel)
- Ah Seop Son - OF ($3600 DraftKings / $12 FanDuel)
Kt Wiz
As mentioned above, the opposing pitcher Seo gave up ten homers in 97 innings last season with a 1.6 WHIP. Baek Ho-Kang, Mel Rojas, Jr, and Jae-Gyun Hwang are the middle of the order power bats for the wiz. Woo-Jun Sim and Min-Hyoek Kim hit 1-2 in the order yesterday and both are stolen base threats.
- Baek-Ho Kang - OF ($5600 DraftKings / $14 FanDuel)
- Mel Rojas Jr. - OF ($5500 DraftKings / $16 FanDuel)
- Jae-Gyun Hwang - 3B ($4700 DraftKings / $12 FanDuel)
Other stacks to consider:
- Hanwha Eagles
- Doosan Bears
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 yesterday were 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!
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