Jeff Passan had a great line during last night’s ESPN KBO game, “I have a deep love affair with the 1-0 game.” I couldn’t agree more. KBO DFS fans didn’t get a ton of action from the bats in this one, but it was a great pitching duel through 7 innings, and a fun game to watch. Hank Azaria’s appearance as his Brockmire character was good for a few chuckles, including a proposal that MLB teams adopt the KBO’s corporate naming model, proclaiming “I won’t watch Cincinnati against Pittsburgh on a Wednesday afternoon, but I’ll damn sure watch Goldman Sachs vs The Cheesecake Factory.”
Azaria also brought up his beloved New York Mets during the broadcast, and I couldn’t help thinking that their indefatigable annual march toward awfulness compares quite well with the 2020 SK Wyverns. SK’s biggest problem last night wasn’t dropping another game, it was the news that their most productive player this season, outfielder Dong-min Han, will miss the next 8 weeks with a stress fracture in his leg. It’s a devastating blow to SK’s hopes of getting back into things this season and pushes them even further from relevance for anyone playing KBO DFS, the offense just has nothing to offer. Targeting SK might be a smart way to find an easy pitching option for the foreseeable future.
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 (5:30am), official lineups have not been released, so be sure to double-check status before you plug players into your lineup.
KBO DFS Picks: Hitting Breakdown for DraftKings + FanDuel
Kia Tigers @ KT Wiz – 9.5 run total (4.34/5.37) – Suggested Stack: Wiz 1-3-4-5
In a night that was somewhat lacking in runs Kia came through as a workable option for KBO DFS owners last night, taking a 4-1 win from KT. They come into tonight as the underdogs, drawing import starter Odrisamer Despaigne here. The Tigers are tied for the lowest implied total on the night, and Despaigne is Awesemo’s highest projected starting pitcher on both sites. If you’re playing Tigers bats tonight, you’re doing it because there’s not even one projected to be owned more above 10% on either site while facing the night’s most popular pitcher. There is leverage here for the bold. With that sort of ownership there’s no real reason to get too cute with Tigers constructions. Preston Tucker ($16/$6.4k) is pricey on both sites but is likely to be involved if the Tigers get something going. That he hasn’t had a big game since his 7-RBI outburst 10 days ago might have the public looking another way at that price. Get Tucker in with his usual cohorts Ji-wan Na ($7/$3.5k) and Hyung-woo Choi ($15/$5.4k), who were both mentioned here yesterday.
The Wiz are facing Ky-young Im tonight. Im is off to a solid start in 2020 but has an uglier looking history leading up to this age 27 season. The Wiz have a lot of juice in this lineup, but they appear to be just slightly over-owned for where they rank in the top stacks tool. Not by any unplayable amount, but you won’t be sneaking up on anyone. Jae-gyun Hwang ($12/$4.5k) is slated to hit 5th and comes at a reasonable price on both sites. On FanDuel, leadoff hitter Woo-jun Sim ($11/$2.9k) is projecting for low ownership and makes a good option as a table-setter.
LG Twins @ Hanwha Eagles – 8.5 run total (5.37/4.34) – Suggested Stack: Twins 2-6
Last night this game had the lowest total on the slate, and it lived up to the billing with LG swiping a 3-0 victory. The big takeaway in this one is that DraftKings clearly has something against Roberto Ramos ($16/$3.6k) whose price just doesn’t budge despite yet another home run last night. Until he’s appropriately priced on DraftKings, play Ramos, make money. Keun-woo Jeong ($7/$3.5k) hit one out as well last night. He’s affordable and drawing almost no ownership again tonight. If he’s hitting 6th in this lineup as currently projected, this is the kind of guy KBO DFS owners want to find in a stack that is high rated and due for collective popularity.
Hanwha was exactly who we expected them to be last night, making Tyler Wilson and the LG bullpen look dominant. The Eagles only managed to scratch together 3 hits on the night, and the Twins starter is Awesemo’s 2nd highest projected. This lineup is going to be low owned once again, but there are better choices for contrarian plays. Projected 2nd hitter Yong-kyu Lee ($9/$3.6k) doesn’t do anything with the bat or on the bases, but he’s got the best porn-stache in the league in his MYKBO photo, so that has to count for something. That he’ll have the opportunity to set the table for the 3-4 hitters in a small stack.
SK Wyverns @ Doosan Bears – 11 run total (4.72/6.55) – Suggested Stack: you know it’s Doosan.
As I mentioned in the intro, the Wyverns lost their most productive hitter and their 2020 hopes are dead in the water. The Wyverns did manage to put together 4 runs, with a few coming from irrelevant pinch hitters at the bottom of the lineup, in a 6-4 loss to Doosan last night. The Bears are sending veteran hurler Hui-kwan Yu to the mount tonight, suppressing the Wyverns implied run total. This is a weak lineup that ranks near the bottom of Awesemo’s top stacks tool, and too many of you appear to be drawn to them tonight. Jeong Choi ($14/$5.2k) did return to the lineup after missing a few games over the weekend. He is one of the few playable options in this lineup, if the Wyverns manage to get something going the 3-hitter should benefit.
Doosan is the obvious chalky looking top stack again tonight. They keep on delivering for KBO DFS owners somehow, with production coming from all over the lineup again last night. For an offense that has been so effective to this point, there are a surprising number of hitters in the Bears’ lineup who are under-priced on DraftKings. The positional flexibility of this team is also helpful, with their 3 most relevant hitters all playing multiple spots. This is a lineup you can mix and match constructions with to a great degree, so using them doesn’t necessarily resign you to a chalky lineup that will be duplicated 12 times in the standings. Using your favorite site’s ownership projections as you make these decisions is critical. A good example tonight is projected 2-hitter Joo-hwan Choi ($11/2.3k) and 5-hitter Jae-won Oh ($7/$2.0k). With only a slightly higher projection and price tag, hitting just two spots higher in what should be the night’s most productive lineup, Choi is drawing 40% ownership compared to 20% for Oh. If you use one of the other great options at first base and have to decide between these two at second you can gain some potential differentiation from the field by choosing the less popular lower-projected option. It’s important to remember that we’re not as hung up on the absolute projection in baseball as we are in other sports. In basketball a guy simply cannot score 50 FanDuel points without the minutes and usage, but in baseball a player can be one of the highest scoring options of the night with just a single plate appearance.
Check us out on TWITTER, where we talk KBO DFS, all things sports, share articles, and have lots of giveaways!
Samsung Lions @ Lotte Giants – 10 run total (4.93/5.29) – Suggested Stack: Giants 2-man 3-4
So, sure, maybe Jeff Passan and I were the only ones that enjoyed this 1-0 affair last night. The game did have a few great plays on defense, a shot off the top of the wall by the mighty Dae-ho Lee that made me think we’d booked another home run call, before he dove in the game’s only run a few innings later. Watching Lee play you can see the physical difference between him and some of the other KBO players. He just looks the part of a slugger and, spoiler for the next paragraph, we like him again tonight. The Lions draw Se-woong Park in this one, with the 24-year-old looking to get his season on track after 3 bumpy starts. The matchup has the Lions ranked a little higher in the top stacks tool than we normally see them, and their salary value on FanDuel is absurd. This puts the Lions in play for KBO DFS owners tonight. Ji-Chan Kim ($5/$2.4k) is one of the more popular players across both sites again tonight, he is very affordable and has a solid projection from Awesemo, but 40% ownership is a concern on any player. Getting to some of his lower-owned teammates in stacks either instead of, or along with, him is the approach once again. Won-seok Lee ($8/$4.0k) is one of these options and he’s too cheap.
Tae-in Won looked better last time out, striking out 6 Twins but taking the 2-0 loss. The Giants continue to be a tricky team to nail down. Looking at the matchup this is a pitcher I think they can exploit, and the individual players are carrying good projections tonight, but the stack ranks in the bottom half of the top stacks tool. Smaller constructions or possibly even one-offs might be the approach here if that holds up getting toward lock. Dae-ho Lee ($11/$4.2k) is that one-off for me if I’m going that route. He’s not as expensive or popular as one of the KBO’s all-time home run leaders deserves to be. Pairing him with any of this hitters 1-5 in this lineup makes sense in a small stack.
Kiwoom Heroes @ NC Dinos – 10 run total (4.71/5.50) – Suggested Stack: Dinos 1-6
The Dinos showed off their deep professional lineup again last night, putting a 7 run game up against the Heroes. The Dinos just now how to hit the ball in the gap and they make a ton of good contact in front of their big sluggers. The Heroes are better than they looked against Chang-mo Koo, one of the best starters in the KBO last night and could bounce back here despite another tough match-up against veteran Jae-hak Lee. The Heroes are interesting in the top stacks tool tonight, where their probability of being the top stack is trending a little under double the current projected ownership. They aren’t Awesemo’s favorite stack, but with a greater than 10% chance of being the best stack they are in play. Other than Byung-ho Park ($12/$4.9k) none of the Heroes are drawing significant ownership on FanDuel either. Building down to both Parks from either the leadoff spot or projected 2 hitter Ha-seong Kim ($13/$4.9k) is the approach. Kim is low-owned, projects well, and should be a key part of this stack at a middle-infield position.
The only letdown from the Dinos last night was the renewed absence of catcher Eui-ji Yang, who is still struggling with some injuries. Jin-sung Kang ($10/$2.7k) moved up in the lineup and would be a great option here if that happens again. Aaron Altherr ($10/$5.3k) made us look good from late in the lineup with a home run and 4 RBI, keep an eye on him again tonight. There are options up and down this lineup depending on how things shake out, keeping an eye on this order close to lock could be a critical inflection point tonight.
Favorite Stack: DoosanÂ
HR Call: Jae-hwan Kim (Doo)
Looking for more KBO DFS picks content? We’ve got loads of articles, data, cheat-sheets and more on the Awesemo KBO home page, just click HERE
