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Welcome back, RotoBallers, to another KBO DFS column. If you haven't signed up for the RotoBaller Premium Slack chat, it's a great space to chat during the day about the lineups. You can also follow me and the other Rotoballer writers on Twitter. In particular, @efhatch1990dfs has his personal KBO DFS Cheat Sheets which you will now be able to find on RotoBaller.
New to KBO? Don't worry, we got you covered! 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 a good bit different on most nights, but I've tried to give you enough options and thoughts behind each option so that you can make the best decision based on your build preference. 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, June 17, 2020. You can check our daily KBO Betting Picks as well, which Steve usually posts around 8 PM.
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KBO DFS Pitchers
Chris Flexen (Doo)
$8.6K DraftKings, $23 FanDuel
There's a lot to like about Flexen's match-up on Wednesday. The American has been stellar in his first KBO season and comes into this start with a 2.92 ERA and 1.19 WHIP. He has allowed only 31 hits in 37 innings while striking out 30 and walking 13, which has allowed him to throw five quality starts out of his first six starts. In the one start that wasn't a quality start, he allowed zero earned runs over five innings but was removed early because he has walked five.
That's where the minor concern comes in. Over his last three starts, Flexen has walked nine and only struck out eight. However, two of those three starts were against Lotte and Kia, who currently ranked third and fourth in the league in terms of fewest strikeouts as a team. Samsung, meanwhile, seems to be trending towards the opposite end of the spectrum. Despite their offense appearing to get stronger, they've struck out 93 times to only 33 walks in the month of June. The Lions' 13 HRs in the month of June are an improvement but is still only good for 5th in the league, while Flexen has only allowed two HRs all season, which means it would seem unlikely that he gets tagged for multiple here.
The Lions are also a much worse offense on the road. Despite hitting .273 at home this year versus RHP, they are hitting .143 with zero HRs on the road versus RHP. They will not only be on the road tomorrow but on the road in the best pitcher's park in the KBO. All of which makes me feel confident in running Flexen out as my SP1. He has a relatively safe floor and the highest upside on the slate if he can find the strikeouts form he had before June.
Mike Wright (NC)
$10.3K DraftKings, $29 FanDuel
Wright is another American who is thriving in his first season in the KBO. He comes into this start with a 2.77 ERA and 1.23 WHIP while allowing only 30 hits in 39 innings. He's posted 35 strikeouts to 18 walks but has had some trouble going deep enough into games, which has limited his quality starts and could impact his ability to get a win against Kia despite pitching in front of the best offense in the league. However, it should also be noted that beyond never pitching more than six innings in a game, four of Wright's seven starts this season have come against Hanwha and Samsung, so he hasn't faced the toughest schedule thus far.
The key factor that gives me pause in rolling out Wright tonight is how good Kia has been at home. On the road, Kia has hit .246 with 16 HRs but improves that to a stellar .307 average and 22 HRs when at home. To top it off, Kia is hitting .319 at home during the month of June. All of that makes me think that Wright is a better option for GPP formats than cash games.
Won-Tae Choi (KIW)
$9.3K DraftKings, $28 FanDuel
A talented young right-hander, Choi has been getting increasingly better over his last three years in the KBO. He was continuing down that path before a blow-up in his last start against Samsung, allowing six runs on three home runs over five innings. Considering Choi had only allowed two HRs in the prior six starts combined and only five in the entirety of last season, I tend to believe that it was one bad start and not a larger problem he has with giving up home runs.
The match-up against Lotte is perhaps less enticing than it was in May when Choi went six innings against them, allowing one earned run on five hits and striking out three. He's never going to rack up a ton of strikeouts, but since Lotte doesn't strikeout a lot, it shouldn't impact his performance tonight so much. Even with Lotte's hot streak, they are only hitting .227 with a .647 OPS against right-handed pitching during the month of June, so I'm not overly concerned with them touching up Choi. The few strikeouts means he lacks GPP upside, but I think he's a safe SP2 in cash games.
Other Options
- Jun-Won Seo (LOT) - 6.2K DraftKings, $24 FanDuel - The 19-year-old has been throwing the ball really well of late, allowing four earned runs total in 23.2 IP, including 6.2 shutout innings with four strikeouts against the same Kiwoom team a month ago. With Kiwoom also only hitting .242 at home in June, Seo might not be a bad risk in certain tournaments.
- Chan-gyu Lim (LG) - 8.0K DraftKings, $24 FanDuel -Lim has not pitched particularly well of late, allowing with 18 earned runs in his last 24.1 innings. However, he consistently pitches six innings, is facing Hanwha, and has struck out 34 hitters in 34.1 innings. He's worth a shot in some GPP lineups.
KBO Top Hitter Stacks
KT Wiz
There are a few solid pitchers on today's slate, but the ones in the KT and SK game are not among them. KT is set to face left-hander Tae-hoon Kim. Kim has a 4.91 ERA and somehow has a 1.27 WHIP despite the fact that he has walked 20 batters this season while striking out only 19. He has suppressed hard contact thus far, but his control issues mean that he frequently pitches himself into trouble. Also, KT crushes left-handed pitching with a .305 average and .840 OPS as a team. That only improves over the last 30 days to .319 and .892. All of which is to say, I'm ready to back the offense that's third in the league in home runs and gets to face a mediocre left-handed pitcher.
Main Targets:
- Mel Rojas Jr. - OF (5.4K DraftKings, $16 FanDuel) - Rojas' diminished price on DK is confusing considering his production against left-handed pitching. In 36 at-bats this season versus southpaw's Rojas is hitting .472 with five HRs and 15 RBIs. With a 1.120 OPS and .424 average with RISP on the season, I'm ready to back Rojas for a big night.
- Baek Ho Kang - 1B/OF (6.2K DraftKings, $16 FanDuel) - Kang has fully adjusted back after his time on the DL. Over his last five games, he's 9-for-23 with two HRs, four RBI and a SB. Even as a left-handed hitter, he still has a .333 average against LHP; although, it is a small sample size. He's just a hard guy to fade given his recent success, but you could build a KT lineup without him if you wanted differentiation in your GPP.
- Jung-Dae Bae - OF (2.8K DraftKings, $10 FanDuel) - Bae hits in the two-hole for the Wiz and absolutely thrives against LHP, hitting .464 on the season with five doubles, a triple and a HR. He's 6-for-20 in his last five games, but his numbers against LHP and his .934 OPS on the season have me liking him in this matchup.
- Han Joon Yoo- OF (3.6K DraftKings, $12 FanDuel) - Yoo came back from injury at the start of the month and was off to a rough start, but he's 7-for-19 with two HRs in his last five games and has hit .400 in a small sample size against LHP this season. As a right-handed clean-up hitter in a strong offense, he's a solid option for tonight.
Secondary Targets:
- Sun Woo Jang - C (3.8K DraftKings, $10 FanDuel) - Jang hits left-handers to the tune of .333; although, he has hit all of his home runs against righties. He's not a masher and hits near the bottom of the Wiz order, but he's cheap and could be good exposure to the lineup.
- Yong Ho Jo - OF (2.8K DraftKings, $8 FanDuel) - Jo has been hitting lead-off for the Wiz after hitting .343 on the season. He is left-handed, but he's hit .429 in 28 at-bats against lefties this season, so there's a good chance he's still in the lineup. He could make for a good salary saver in a GPP.
- Sang-Chul Moon - 3B (2.6K DraftKings, $5 FanDuel) - Moon was shifted into a platoon with the return on Kang. However, he hits .333 against left-handed pitching, so he could well be getting the start tomorrow and could give you access to the lineup for a low price.
- Jae-Gyun Hwang - 3B (5.2K DraftKings, $9 FanDuel) - After starting off the season slowly, Hwang has hits in six of his last seven games, going 9-for-29 with a HR and four RBI. He's not setting the world on fire, but he hits 6th and could be involved in a few rallies tonight, even though his price on DK gives me pause.
SK Wyverns
The Wyverns are on the other side of what is likely to be a high-scoring affair. KT will trot out Byung-wook Jo to start tomorrow. He's a 22-year-old who has thrown only two innings out of the bullpen all year in his first season in the KBO. This likely means it will be a bullpen game for the Wiz, which is a great thing for SK since the Wiz have the worst bullpen in the league. It might be hard to make the Wyverns a full-stack but using a KT/SK lineup in GPP seems to be the way to go on this slate.
Main Targets:
- Jamie Romak - 1B/OF (5.1K DraftKings, $11 FanDuel) - Romak is the Wyverns' clean-up hitter and main source of power. He's hit 103 HRs over his first four years in the KBO and has added six to that this season. He's never a huge source of batting average but with a HR last night, it's possible this is a series where he heats up.
- Jeong Choi - 3B/SS (4.6K DraftKings, $14 FanDuel) - Choi comes into this with a .246 average but hits in six of his last seven. He's a career .290 hitter who bats third in the lineup and has averaged 37.5 HR per season over his last four seasons. I like him to get hot during this series.
- Ji-Hoon Choi - OF (2.7K DraftKings, $5 FanDuel) - The 22-year-old has become entrenched as the team's lead-off hitter and is putting up a solid .333 average and .811 OPS. He's a bit of an empty average, but if the Wyverns are going to score runs, there is a good chance he's one of the guys scoring a few of them.
Secondary Targets:
- Eui-Yoon Jeong - OF (3.2K DraftKings, $7 FanDuel) - The veteran hit a HR last night and has hits in 10 of his last 12 games. He's SLG and OPS are well under his career averages, but he hits 5th for the Wyverns, so maybe he chips in a few hits and gets involved in a rally or two.
NC Dinos
Let's go back to old reliable as the Dinos face a struggling Min-Woo Lee tomorrow. After seemingly finding his groove, he got rocked by Doosan and KT in back-to-back outings, allowing 12 earned runs on 17 hits over 10 innings. Considering that he sports a career 5.55 ERA and 1.59 WHIP, I'm more likely to believe that the recent starts are closer to his true talent than the good three-start stretch against LG, Lotte, and SK. The Dinos are still the best team and offense in the league, so they make for a great cash game stack and some solid one-offs in a KT/SK GPP stack.
Main Targets:
- Sung-Bum Na - OF (6.1K DraftKings, $17 FanDuel) - The big game hasn't been there for Na in a while, but he still has hits in 14 of his last 15 games. With a .315 average and 11 HRs on the season, perhaps tonight is the night he finds the power stroke again. He's in play every night.
- Eui Ji Yang - C (6.3K DraftKings, $14 FanDuel) - Yang is the best fantasy catcher in the KBO and a clean-up hitter in the best offense in the league. He's had a quiet last week but still has a .942 OPS on the season which makes him a solid play if you can fit his outsized salary into your build.
- Jin-Sung Kang - 1B/OF (4.5K DraftKings, $15 FanDuel) - Kang is another Dino that hasn't had a huge game in the last week but has consistently been finding his way on base and keeping his average at a remarkable .447 with a 1.305 OPS. His salary still makes him a great option.
- Aaron Altherr - OF (4.7K DraftKings, $16 FanDuel) - Lather, rinse, repeat with the NC blurbs. Altherr has one HR and one multi-hit game in the last seven and hits 7th in a stacked lineup. However, he has been hitting more consistently in June and has the power to win you a slate.
Secondary Targets:
- Myung-gi Lee - OF (3.2K DraftKings, $9 FanDuel) - While the other Dinos have gone stagnant, Lee has been inferno-hot lately. The two-hole hitter has seven multi-hit games in his last eight, going 19-for-29 eight runs scored. It's upped his average to .372 and makes him hard to fade while hitting at the top of this lineup.
- Chang-Min Mo -1B/3B (4.3K DraftKings, $6 FanDuel) - Mo has gotten the last two games off, so keep an eye on the lineup before you commit to him. I believe it's just the Dinos monitoring his workload after coming off the DL, but the veteran is hitting .368 with a .947 OPS on the season, so he's worthy of a spot if he plays.
- Hee-Dong Kwon - OF (2.6K DraftKings, $7 FanDuel) - Kwon is hitting .337 on the year with a .971 OPS. However, what's more important is that he was moved up to 6th in the order yesterday, ahead of Altherr. If that continues, he's great value at his current price.
Intriguing One-Offs
- Jared Hoying - HAN OF (4.9K DraftKings, $9 FanDuel) - As I mentioned above, Chan-gyu Lim hasn't been great on the year and if there is an Eagle that could tag him for the longball, it's Hoying.
- Kang-nam Yoo - LG C (4.0K DraftKings, $18FanDuel) - Chad Bell is now finally stretched out and has been solid against LHH, which makes me hesitant to commit to a full stack of LG, but you can get a few of their bats in your lineups. Yoo is a RHH who has a four-game hitting streak that has seen him tally six RBIs.
- Eun-Sung Chae - LG OF (3.3K DraftKings, $11 FanDuel) - With Ramos still likely on the bench, Chae is the Twins' best hitter. He went 3-4 with a HR yesterday and could feast in the Eagles bullpen when Bell is removed from the game.
Good luck in your DFS contests everyone. Be sure to stop back every day for some more KBO DFS analysis here at RotoBaller!
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