KBO DFS: Spotlight Hitters DraftKings, FanDuel

On a KBO DFS slate that didn’t have nearly as much offense as the night before, the Bears roared to a 12-run total, while the Wiz came through from the top of stack rankings with a 7-run night. The only other high scoring bats were unexpectedly the Lions, who managed to scratch out six runs, with four coming against the Giants bullpen.

Pitching performances dominated the slate, with the Twins’ Chan-heon Jeong leading the way with a three hit complete game shutout masterpiece against the Wyverns. Eric Jokisch wasn’t far behind for the Heroes, striking out five in an eight-inning one-hitter. The two most popular starters weren’t the only ones with important nights, the Lions’ Jung-hyun Baek went six strong against the Giants while striking out six, giving KBO DFS owners a nice lower-owned angle in on the slate.

KBO DFS Picks: DraftKings + FanDuel Hitters

Totals are way down across the board tonight with a lot of the leagues top starters taking the mound for their teams. With scoring at a premium we’re going to have to dig deep for relevant bats that aren’t the obvious names off the top. Pitching could decide GPP winners again tonight, finding a good low owned approach at a low price can get you to some exceptional stacks and may prove critical.

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 (4:00 A.M. EST), official lineups have not been released, so be sure to double-check status before you plug players into your lineup.

Kia Tigers @ Kiwoom Heroes – 8.5 run total (4.39/4.30) – Suggested Stack(s): Tigers 1-5

The Tigers got smoked by Eric Jokisch over eight innings last night. The Heroes starter was excellent striking out five and yielding just one hit. His bats gave him just enough run support in a 2-0 Heroes victory that had not much else of interest for KBO DFS purposes.

Won-tae Choi is a step down in class from last night’s starter but he’s still a high-quality KBO pitcher, so this is no easy spot for the Tigers. The game total here is the slate’s lowest by a full run, and both lineups are implied for under 4.5. This doesn’t look like a great spot for bats on paper, but the Tigers are the best team in the bottom-half of the stack rankings and there’s an ownership edge, so they aren’t unplayable. If I’m going this way, I’m taking advantage of the lack of popularity and going right to the stud bats. Preston Tucker ($17/$5,600) and Hyung-woon Choi ($13/$4,500) are the priciest and most popular bats in this lineup, but there’s no reason to leave them out. Sun-bin Kim ($8/$4,000) is carrying the lowest number among the top six hitters in Awesemo’s projections for this lineup but he makes a good play as a low-owned shortstop option on DraftKings and is a generally ignored two-hitter.

The Heroes are going to have to their work cut out for them with Aaron Brooks on the mound for the Tigers. After a bit of a power outage last night this team doesn’t look very strong again here. The Heroes rank near the bottom of stacks on both sites. They’re appropriately unpopular, so if you decide to go this route feel free to jam in the quality bats up top. There’s nothing wrong with building down from Keon-chang Seo ($11/$3,900) straight to Byung-ho Park ($14/$4,200) if you decide to play these bats. Work in Hye-sung Kim ($9/$2,600) a bit later to differentiate.

KT Wiz @ Hanwha Eagles – 9.5 run total (5.62/4.11) – Suggested Stack(s): Wiz 3-4-5-6-8

The Wiz came through in style as the top ranked stack last night, outscored only by the big number the Bears put up. Riding another home run from Mel Rojas Jr. and a solid night from starter William Cuevas the Wiz would cruise to a 7-2 win.

With Chad Bell on the mound the Wiz’ total stays among the highest of the night. They rank second in the stack tool on both sites and look like a great option against the struggling lefty. The usual Wiz bats are in play despite the pricing and popularity. Baek-ho Kang ($16/$6,100) and Yong-ho Jo ($8/$2,800) are both under-owned on DraftKings and should be key bats for stacks on both sites. Mel Rojas Jr. ($17/$6,000) just needs to be listed for the people who only scan for bold names and don’t read this part. Kyung-soo Park ($8/$3,600) and Sung-woo Jang ($8/$3,600) are playable late-lineup components for the Wiz that fit into DraftKings positional requirements well.

The Eagles came back to Earth last night, only managing two runs while scattering seven hits. They get Odrisamer Despaigne tonight in a matchup that odds-makers and Awesemo’s projections do not like for bats. The Eagles rank dead last in the stack tool here and just don’t look like a very playable option against one of the KBO’s better starters. Now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, my home run model is seeing something in the middle of this lineup and they’re rating better there than anywhere else I could look for a reason for you to justify playing them. I won’t be. If that’s your game, Sung-yeol Lee ($9/$3,500) and Tae-kyun Kim ($7/$3,400) are the guys drawing the power marks. Kyung-hak Kang ($5/$3,700) has performed well since joining the lineup and should be hitting between them, I would use it as a three-man and not much more.

LG Twins @ SK Wyverns – 10.0 run total (5.81/4.42) – Suggested Stack(s): Twins 3-7

Chan-heon Jung stepped up and gave the struggling Twins the big stopper performance they needed last night. In a dominant start, the hurler went the full nine innings, allowing only three hits and striking out six while walking just two hitters in a 3-0 Twins victory.

At only 10 runs this game is still the highest total on the slate, and the Twins are carrying the highest individual implied team total. They’re the top stack on both sites but the ownership is dramatically out of proportion. The massive 20-point projection for Roberto Ramos ($17/$5,800) in the FanDuel points column is tripled by his 65% projected ownership on that site tonight. He’s too popular by far on both sites, and it’s extremely difficult to justify him as a one-off despite the quality. You’ll want his bat as part of a stack, but you’ll have to dig to get unique with those constructions. Leaving a lot of money on the table and getting different with pitching is my favorite way to make that happen. Remember that weird low-owned three-man Eagles power? They could make sense to differentiate just a few shares of your Twins lineups here. The other Twins bats to consider are mostly the names we know up top, primarily Hyun-soo Kim ($15/$5,500) and his .337/.382/.500 season line. Look out for Chang-gi Hong ($5/$2,500) hitting around six as a way to potentially make a stack cheap and more unique.

Chan-gyu Lim is another KBO-strong pitcher who is a quality strikeout option when compared to the bulk of the league. While he may not repeat his teammate’s outing from last night, this could be a good spot to go to for an arm, and it doesn’t inspire me with confidence in the Wyverns’ bats. This is a repeat spot of last night with Romak and Choi, and KBO DFS owners know what to expect from those two at this point. No one will be on other bats here, look to Eui-yoon Jeong ($7/$2,600), Kang-min Kim ($7/$3,200), and even catcher Jae-won Lee ($6/$4,400) to help differentiate if you’re a Wyverns fan.

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NC Dinos @ Doosan Bears – 9.5 run total (4.81/4.89) – Suggested Stack(s): Dinos 3-4-5-6-8 (DraftKings) / Bears 2-5 (FanDuel)

The Dinos gave us a decision to make on DraftKings last night. They came into the slate projected as the third best stack but with ownership well below where it should have been, making them an appealing spot. When lineups posted they came up with an oddball, however, after starter Mung-yi Lee went down with an injury and star Eui-ji Yang got the night off. Rolling with the Dinos anyway got some quality and even lower than anticipated exposures but didn’t end up paying off. The other side of this one was where all the action was. The Bears exploded for a 12-run total riding a Jae-hwan Kim home run and contributions from everyone in the top half of the lineup.

The pitching matchup in this one is strong, both teams have high-end import starters going and the odds-makers have given KBO DFS players something to think about with a low run total that has both teams implied for under five runs. The Dinos will be missing Lee for at least a week but should have Yang back tonight. Keep an eye on where Aaron Altherr ($16/$5,200) hits. I like him even in the eight spot, but he gets even better as he climbs the lineup when this team makes changes. Jin-sung Kang ($15/$4,600) remains too cheap on DraftKings as does Jin-hyuk No ($9/$4,000) as a strong middle-infield option on both sites, but temper expectations against Chris Flexen who has been pitching well and striking out 22% of hitters he faces. The Dinos offer a strong ownership advantage again in the stack tool on DraftKings, where the opposite looks true on FanDuel again tonight.

Drew Rucinski has been even more impressive than Flexen so far this season and he takes the mound for the Dinos tonight. The Bears are going to face a much bigger challenge putting up any runs tonight, let alone a dozen. This lineup provides quality every time out, but there are better spots to get to on DraftKings. On FanDuel they similarly rank in the bottom-half of stacks, but their ownership is disproportionately low, likely due to the high individual price tags. If you can get creative with things there could be contrarian value in getting over the field on these bats on the blue site. Jae-il Oh ($15/$3,700) might be this lineup’s highest owned player at only 7% on FanDuel, making him a key building block for a Bears stack. The two sluggers around him in any order are Jae-hwan Kim ($17/$4,900) and Joo-hwan Choi ($13/$2,700) who both offer some price relief and are this lineup’s best power bats not named Jose Miguel Fernandez ($17/$5,500).

Samsung Lions @ Lotte Giants – 9.5 run total (4.69/5.02) – Suggested Stack(s): Lions 2-3-4-5-7

This one packed a sneaky key pitching performance for KBO DFS owners last night with the Lions’ Jung-hyun Baek posting six strong innings against the Giants in a 6-1 Lions victory. Most of his run support came off the bat of Sung-gon Lee who went three for four with a home run. Tonight’s matchup has a low run total but the pitcher going for the Giants could present an opportunity for Lions bats.

Taking on Se-woong Park has been fun for KBO hitters so far this year. The starter ranks third from the bottom among qualified KBO pitchers with a 1.57 hr/9 and is riding a 5.53 FIP. This is a pitcher you can target with bats and the Lions climb to third in the stack rankings on both sites. They don’t look over-owned, so KBO DFS owners might not be on top of this one. Ja-wook Koo ($9/$4,800), Hak-ju Lee ($7/$4,400), Won-seok Lee ($8/$4,300), Dong-yeop Kim ($8/$3,400) would be my four man core from this team again, mix and match guys out of that list with the two or three other decently projected hitters to differentiate some of your Lions constructions. This team is cheap on both sites, don’t be afraid to leave a whole pile of salary on the table in your Lions builds.

The Giants look like a team in a fair spot that is getting too much love tonight. KBO DFS owners are still riding the team they think this is from the hot start, and not the team this truly is. There is opportunity against Lions starter Dae-woo Kim, but the public is going overboard, making this a spot I want to try to get away from. Where I am playing it I’ll probably be eating some chalk on Jun-woo Jeon ($12/$4,300) who has a bigtime rating in my home run model tonight. Ah-seop Son ($13/$3,700) is underpriced for the quality he brings as a two-hitter here. Dixon Machado ($10/$4,500) is fine if that’s really your thing, but I prefer Chi-hong An ($9/$3,200). You can get to some interesting builds with the Giants on DraftKings. It’s a spot where it probably makes sense to get either way over or well under, but not be with the public.