KBO DFS: Spotlight Hitters for DraftKings + FanDuel | May 5

Thank you, South Korea! With the amazing efforts by the nation’s citizens, government, and most importantly dedicated doctors, nurses, and first responders, they’ve managed to beat back the spread of Covid-19 to the point that they’re able to answer our collective DFS prayers. OK, no, they didn’t win us a milli-maker, but they are bringing sports back, which is close enough right now. Starting at 1 a.m. EST on Tuesday morning (aka Monday night), as covered here by Josh, baseball is back with KBO DFS.

So, good luck to you! Oh, what’s that? You don’t know anything about the KBO? The task of taking on a whole new league and wrestling with the names has you just staring at your computer screen (I know the feeling)? Don’t sweat it, we’re here to help.

Awesemo’s projections will be FREE until Friday, Josh Engleman is breaking down your pitching options, and I’m using Awesemo’s projections alongside stats to filter through hitters looking for our best options. Be warned, there are some issues with naming conventions between the various sites that everyone is still wrestling with, so make sure you give yourself plenty of time before lock just in case you hit some bugs.

Fortunately, despite the messy setup, baseball works pretty much the same way around the world. We’re approaching this just like any other baseball slate, stacking is key. DraftKings is providing their standard experience for contests, while FanDuel has a modified baseball setup, letting users select two infielders, two outfielders, and two utility spots on offense. In a correlative sport like baseball, it’s important to grab as much of a potent offense as we can, so we’ll be looking at a lot of 5-3 on DraftKings, 4-2 on FanDuel, and mixing in some other constructions here and there.

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. With lock still hours away, official lineups have been released, so be sure to double-check status before you plug players into your lineup. Pricing and popularity will be considered, more so as 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.

KBO DFS Picks: Game Breakdown for DraftKings + FanDuel

Hanwha Eagles @ SK Wyverns – 8.5-run total (3.99/4.51) – Suggested Stack: Wyverns 3 – 7

Hanwha comes into this one with one of the lower run totals on the slate, and not a ton to love in their lineup. A matchup against former major leaguer Nick Kingham, making his KBO debut, is doing them no favors in the projections department. Lefty masher Sung-Yeol Lee ($12/$2,200) could be a nice one-off power option, particularly on DraftKings where he looks too cheap.

Vegas is favoring the Wyverns in this one, with the home team squaring off against righthander Warwick Saupold, who had a couple cups of coffee in the Detroit Tigers bullpen from 2016 to 2018 before washing out of MLB and catching on with Hanwha. The Wyverns offense revolves around power hitting veteran third baseman Jeong Choi ($16/$5,500) and former minor leaguer Jamie Romak ($15/$5,800), who tied for second in the KBO with 29 home runs each last year. Projecting those two for the middle of the order leads to some natural stacking, with our preferred pairings being hitters currently listed 5-7 in FC’s projected lineups.

Lotte Giants @ KT Wiz – 9-run total (4.22/4.78) – Suggested Stack: Giants 2-5

The Lotte Giants, from Busan, South Korea’s second largest city, are one of the league’s remaining original franchises.  Despite winning only two championships since 1982, the Giants are the league’s most popular team. Maybe some traveling fans will help them out as they go into this road tilt as the underdog, albeit with the highest run total for a dog on today’s slate. Facing former MLB hurler, Odrisamer Despaigne, the Giants have a lot to like from 1-5 in the projected lineup. Infielder Chi Hong Ahn ($6/$3,100) appears underpriced on FanDuel if he’s hitting fifth as projected. Ahn’s power was diminished in less-than-full action last season for Kia but was a good power hitter prior to that. Using him to unlock the rest of the stack above him could yield strong constructions.

The KT Wiz feature one of the stronger former MLB bats in the heart of their order in the pricey Mel Rojas Jr. ($16/$5,300). Looking at some of the bats to stack around Rojas, the also powerful Jae-Gyun Hwang ($12/$4,700) offers a bit of a discount on FanDuel, less so on DraftKings. Stacking these two with any of the options above them in the lineup should provide a solid return, but they also could be popular, despite facing a recognizable pitcher in Dan Straily.

Bonus suggestion: Train to Busan is one badass ride of a zombie flick if you don’t mind subtitles and want to get really immersed in your South Korean experience today.


Check us out on TWITTER, where we talk sports, KBO DFS, share articles and have lots of giveaways!


NC Dinos @ Samsung Lions – 8.5-run total (4.6/3.99) – Suggested Stack: Dinos 3-6

As detailed by Jake Hari earlier today on Side Action (check out the new content!) this game will be broadcast on ESPN in the States. They seem to have picked a good one for the initial broadcast, Samsung’s home park plays like the Coors Field of the KBO, so we should hopefully see some fireworks in this one. Awesemo has NC ranked as his top stack on both sites in the top stacks tool. The Dinos have a star hitter who is underpriced on both sites, Sung-Bum Na ($7/$3,000) is a talented outfielder who only saw 23 games in 2019 due to injury. For the 5 years leading up to that he was perennially among the league leaders in all the categories we care about. Don’t think too hard about this one.

Samsung is coming into this one as a home dog, with an implied run total under four in a hitter’s park. Ja-Wook Koo ($12/$5,000) and Won-Seok Lee ($11/$4,400) look like the clear-cut top two options in the Samsung lineup, but there’s not a ton to like about the rest of the stack that goes with them, and their pricing doesn’t offer much of a discount.

Doosan Bears @ LG Twins – 8.5-run total (4.64/3.86) – Suggested Stack: Bears 4-6

The KBO defending champion Doosan Bears won’t have far to travel for this one. The Bears and Twins share Seoul’s Jamsil Stadium and are bitter rivals. Jamsil appears to suppress power a bit, if we’re translating some questionable sites correctly from the original Korean. Projected to hit from an RBI spot in the lineup, power hitter Jae-Il Oh ($15/$5.1k) should be a core component of your Bears stacks. Awesemo currently has Doosan as his second-highest-ranked stack on both sites, with an appealing projected ownership advantage as the fifth-most popular on FanDuel and fourth on DraftKings.

LG, on the other hand, is ranked dead last on the stacks tool for both sites, for good reason. There’s simply not a lot to like in the LG lineup, and their pricing isn’t at enough of a discount to make them appealing as a sneaky value option. If you feel compelled to play someone from LG, and if he’s actually in the cleanup spot as FC has him projected, Jong-Min Yang could be a super-cheap FanDuel one-off.

Kiwoom Heroes @ Kia Tigers – 8.5-run total (4.46/4.04) – Suggested Stack: Heroes 1-2-4

The Kiwoom Heroes, last year’s KBO runner-up, are looking to start the season on the right foot against the Kia Tigers and Awesemo’s highest projected SP for today. The Heroes pack a wallop in the heart of the order, with last year’s KBO home run king, Byung-Ho Park ($14/$4,900), and his .282 ISO projected to hit from the cleanup spot. Park should be paired with the guys getting on base in front of him in the lineup, looking for that big home run shot. Kiwoom looks to be a bit over-owned on DraftKings, with a 12.1% top stack number vs. an 18.3% projected ownership share. On FanDuel the top/own numbers are well-balanced and should make a reasonable play.

The Kia Tigers are facing momentary Atlanta Brave Jake Brigham and are ranking out as Awesemo’s next to last stack on both sites. There are a few reasonable but unspectacular options in the middle of the lineup. Former Astro Preston Tucker ($12/$4,700) and outfielder Hyung-Woo Choi ($14/$4,800) are the best bet for power and production, projected two-hitter Chan-Ho Park ($14/$4,600) offers a good amount of stolen-base upside, but his on-base skills and hit tool seem to be lacking for the price. If he manages to get on he’ll play well with the two sluggers batting behind him.

Favorite KBO DFS Stack: Doosan

Home Run Call: Sung-Bum Na


Looking for more KBO DFS picks content? We’ve got loads odf articles, data, cheatsheets and more on the Awesemo KBO home page, just click HERE

Author
Terry used to do other things, now he writes words on the internet. He hopes his more than 20 years’ experience in season-long and daily fantasy sports and his custom models for MLB, NBA, and NFL don't steer you too wrong when he writes columns and makes picks on Awesemo.com. A lifetime of experience keeping odd hours make Terry ideal to cover KBO baseball overnight until the world returns to normal. Most of those late night hours have been spent on the couch watching sports, T.V., and movies; just try to shut him up about any of the above. You can find his pop-culture ramblings and more on Sideaction.

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