I hope you enjoyed another big day of Saturday DFS so far; come for the UFC, stay for KBO DFS. With the action starting up at 1am, fight night should make for a great lead-in to the Korean baseball slate, and hopefully provide some softer-than-normal field entries. FanDuel’s GPP offerings on tonight’s slate, however, leave a lot to be desired. The site seems to be making only a light commitment to KBO tournament guarantees when compared with DraftKings. Having large guarantee UFC and NASCAR events also siphons off a degree of the weekend’s prize pools for other events.
The split schedule slate last night was an adventure to build for and manage. With numerous important lineup changes coming out between 3:30 and 4:00am anyone relying on late swaps had to scramble. The later games proved to be where the offense was for the night, with the Wiz and Tigers both going over 10 runs. Kia’s Preston Tucker had an outrageous 4-4 night with a home run, 3 runs scored and 7 RBI and KT paid off from the top of Awesemo’s stack ranking tool; we spotted several familiar names who landed on this combo toward the top of the GPP leader-boards again last night.
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 (1:00am), official lineups have not been released, so be sure to double-check status before you plug players into your lineup.
KBO DFS Picks: Game Breakdown for DraftKings + FanDuel
Lotte Giants @ Hanwha Eagles – 9.5 run total (4.72/4.98) – Suggested Stack:  Eagles 1-5 (value)
The Eagles squandered Warwick Saupold’s 3rd straight quality start, managing just a lone 3rd inning run in a 5-1 loss. The Giants were able to put 2 up in Saupold’s 7 innings and added 3 late runs against the bullpen. The Giants got small contributions with base hits up and down their lineup, but no individual hitter had a particularly big day by fantasy point scoring. Tonight, the Giants draw Min-woo Kim making his 2nd start of the year after a strong 7 inning 8 strikeout performance vs Kia on Tuesday. Awesemo’s top stacks have the Giants ranking a bit higher on DraftKings tonight, but they offer a compelling mix of success probability, value, and projected ownership on both sites. The first 5 hitters in the Giants lineup are really where the action is again tonight, with solid projections and playable ownership up and down. Projected 1, 3, and 5 hitters Byung-Hun Min ($11/$4.0k), Ah Seop Son ($13/$3.5k), and Chi Hong An ($10/$2.8k) are all tracking for under 15% ownership on FanDuel, making them a nice core to which you can add one of the even-numbered hitters.
The Eagles are facing 21-year-old right-hander Seung-heon Lee, making his first start of 2020. Lee was up for a single start in 2019, giving up a disastrous 7 earned runs on 7 hits, walking 3 and hitting a batter, in only 2 innings pitched. Whether Lee will be deployed with a full leash or just in short work more like an opener remains to be seen. The Eagles lineup is carrying significant value again tonight. Cleanup hitting outfielder Seung-yol Lee ($9/$3.2k) is priced too low on both sites, but KBO DFS players have taken notice, Lee is one of the more popular individual position players on both sites tonight. The rest of this stack appears to not be drawing quite enough ownership, however, keeping them in play as a strong value option. Infielders Eun-won Jung ($8/$5.5k) and Ju-suk Ha ($9/$3.3k) both jumped in price on DraftKings, but remain inexpensive and reasonably owned on FanDuel, making them great options in any Eagles stack again tonight.
NC Dinos @ SK Wyverns – 9.0 run total (5.38/3.84) – Suggested Stack: Dinos – get creative
The Dinos were relatively quiet again last night, compared to their booming start to the season, sneaking past the Wyverns with 2 late runs. The only relevant fantasy scoring in the 3-run game came in the form of a solo shot off the bat of the Wyvern’s 5 hitter, Dong-min Han. Tonight, the Dinos are going up against a 19-year-old lefty who is making his the first start of his KBO career. Seung-geon Baek made 15 appearances out of the bullpen in 2019, posting 19 1/3 mostly successful innings, with KBO-strong strikeout numbers. Keeping runners off the base-paths and Dinos off the scoreboard tonight might be a tall order for the kid if he doesn’t limit the walks he issues, however. The Dinos rank as Awesemo’s top stack on both sites tonight and are massive favorites with the night’s highest implied run total and KBO ace Drew Rucinski taking the mound. The usual suspects in the NC lineup are going to be wildly popular again, so plugging a lower owned play into your chalky Dinos stacks or pairing them with contrarian options in your secondary stacks and pitching is the approach. Projected 2-hitter Myung-gi Lee ($10/$3.7) has struggled to get out of the gate this season and has seen his popularity take a hit. Tracking for only 7% ownership on FanDuel and 12% on DraftKings, Lee could be an inflection point in the Dinos stack tonight.
The Wyverns rank dead last on both sites tonight. Facing Drew Rucinski has a lot of yellow and orange coming up in our conditional formatting in Excel tonight. If you’re not familiar with warning lights, those colors typically do not indicate good options. The key options here are Jamie Romak ($12/$5.8k) and Dong-min Han ($13/$4.3k) once again, with Han projected to move into the 3-spot in the lineup tonight. Pricing on both players came down slightly and they won’t be popular. Stretching much beyond a 2-man approach to the Wyverns tonight is probably inadvisable, but it would be a highly contrarian angle into the slate.
 Doosan Bears @ Kia Tigers – 9.5 run total (5.01/4.74) – Suggested Stack:  Bears 2-5
The Tigers really put a hurt on the Bears last night in a 13-4 shellacking in which Doosan was never competitive. The Tigers have ace Aaron Brooks toeing the rubber tonight after two strong starts so far this season. This doesn’t seem to be intimidating Awesemo’s projections in the slightest, as Doosan stacks currently rank highly on both sites, with very favorable success to ownership ratio on FanDuel.  Projected 5th hitter, infielder Joo-hwan Choi ($11/$2.2k), has a lot of pop left in his bat at age 32, with 3 homers so far on the season and a near minimum price on DraftKings, he’s no secret to KBO DFS owners, but that price tag makes him playable at his current ownership. Getting to Choi on FanDuel where he has a higher price tag relative to the rest of the slate but is tracking for less than 7% ownership makes a ton of sense as part of a Doosan stack tonight.
The Tigers exploded from near the bottom of stacks rankings last night, carried by a gargantuan performance by Preston Tucker, but it would be a surprise to see that happen again here today despite a respectable 4.7 implied run-total against middling import starter Raul Alcantara. The Tigers offense is limited, and their two best hitters are overpriced on DraftKings and over-owned on FanDuel. Looking to lower owned players at the top of this lineup would be my approach to using a Kia two-man stack, projected 2-hitter Sun-bin Kim ($10/$3.7k) is the type of productive table-setter we want in this role. Tracking for very limited ownership, using him with either Tucker or Choi in the middle of the lineup would be my choice for the primary way to deploy Tigers in a few lineups tonight.
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Samsung Lions @ KT Wiz – 11 run total (4.42/5.30) – Suggested Stack: KT two-man 4-5
Awesemo knows best. KT was at the top of the stacks tool last night and paid off KBO DFS owners who went along with them. Putting up 10 runs as a widely owned play made the Wiz nearly a must for anyone looking to compete in GPPs last night. With much better pitching matchup and a game total 1.5 runs lower than last night, this one projects for more of a tame affair. The Lions get Wiz starter Odrisamer Despaigne who has had up and down results to start his KBO career. The strikeout numbers are strong for Despaigne, with 14 in just 11 innings across his first two starts. If he’s able to maintain this pace it will help him overcome runs that he allows on a lot of nights, compared to the average KBO starter’s ability to cover the same mistakes. The Lions have the 3rd lowest implied total on the night and look once again like a differentiation play rather than a quality one. Infielder Hak-ju Lee ($6/$3.4k) isis still well under where his price should be. Pairing the projected 5th hitter with Won-seok Lee ($10/$4.0k) who should be hitting in front of him in the lineup could be a good 2-man stack to pair with one of the more popular teams in a 4-2 or 5-2 construction, depending on your site of choice.
The Wiz lived up to their run total last night and have an implied total over 5 again here, despite taking on import Ben Lively. Despite the matchup, Awesemo’s projections have the heart of this order looking strong again tonight. KT ranks in the top half of stacks tonight but getting to the right mix of players will be tricky as most of their primary bats all project for a fair amount of ownership. Cleanup hitter Han-joon Yoo ($14/$4.2k) should be right in the thick of things for the Wiz and is currently projecting for under 10% ownership on both sites. If this number holds up it would be an opportunity to pounce on as part of your KT constructions. Infielder Min-hyeok Kim ($9/$4.0k) is no one’s favorite with the bat in his hands, but as a 2-hitter with a lot of speed who is currently carrying no ownership on either site, he’s not someone you should ignore.
 Kiwoom Heroes @ LG Twins – 8.5 run total – (4.58/4.11) – Suggested Stack: Heroes 1-3-4-5
The Heroes and Twins played 2 last night, making up a rain-out from the day before, which might warrant being certain of lineups prior to lock. Let someone else be the one who plays a resting veteran player, with a 1am lock tonight KBO DFS owners will have the opportunity to stay up and have a better hand on the wheel for this situation tonight. The Heroes are looking to get things going after dropping both games of the double-header, and seeing their offense continue to sputter. Getting cleanup hitter Byung-ho Park ($14/$5.2k) going is the key to unlocking the Heroes offense. Without his immense power in the middle of the order the Heroes are going to struggle to score. Park remains incredibly popular on both sites, pulling 30%+ ownership again tonight, despite his early struggles. Heroes leadoff hitter Keon-chang Seo ($11/$2.6k) and the Lees who bookend Park in the lineup (Jung-hoo and Taek-keun) are all drawing virtually no ownership on FanDuel, making them an interesting group to combine with Park in a stack that lands toward the middle of Awesemo’s rankings. Seo is around 10% ownership on DraftKings, with the Lees lower, so they are appealing there as well.
The Twins are looking like a weak option tonight, facing Eric Jokisch, who was one of the KBO’s best starters in 2019 and is out to a strong opening two weeks of 2020, yielding only 1 run and striking out 11 in 11 innings pitched across his first two starts. Frequent column mention Roberto Ramos ($16/$3.0k) smashed another homer in the second game of the night last night. With an unchanged price on both sites he remains a playable option as a one-off or as part of an LG stack. Eun-Sung Chae ($12/$2.4k) is criminally underpriced on DraftKings and drawing an ownership projection of only 6%. On FanDuel he is a bit more expensive but is currently garnering only a 1.3% ownership projection. If you really want to get to LG tonight you could do much worse than pairing these two.
Favorite Stack: NC Dinos
HR Call: Won-seok Lee (Samsung)
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