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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, July 1, 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
Chang-Mo Koo (NC)
$11.0K DraftKings, $29 FanDuel
Anytime Koo is on the slate, you need to think long and hard about playing him. The left-hander is the best pitcher in the KBO, coming into this game with a 6-0 record, 1.37 ERA, and 0.76 WHIP in nine starts. He's also amassed 65 strikeouts and only 12 walks over 59 innings and allowed only two home runs on the year. Now, many people may be scared off by Lotte's recent run of offensive success, but the Giants hit just .206 as a team against LHP on the year and just .216 against them during their hot month of June. They still don't strikeout a lot as a team, which will limit Koo's ultimate upside, but they had 139 strikeouts in June, which is no longer best in the league and puts them closer to the middle of the pack. Koo is very much the safest pitching option on the slate, but DraftKings is really making you pay up for it. I can see going a different way in GPP, but I would fade it hard to fade that security in a cash game. It's a good thing that a few of the best stacks today have some budget hitting options.
Ki-young Im (KIA)
$8.0K DraftKings, $24 FanDuel
Im may be the second safest play tomorrow because of both his match-up and recent performance. For one, he comes into the game with a 2.91 ERA and 1.15 WHIP in his eight starts. He has 39 strikeouts and only 7 walks in 43.1 innings, which gives him some fantasy upside while not providing the opponent with free opportunities. That's doubly effective when the opponent is the worst team in the league. In the month of June, Hanwha hit .239 as a team with a league-worst 12 HRs and the fourth-most strikeouts at 175. They also hit only .212 against right-handed pitching, which plays into Im's favor even more.
However, the 27-year-old has thrown more than six innings only one time on the season, so he's not likely to pitch deep into the game. His floor is relatively high, and he should get some added points with the win bonus, which makes him an alluring fantasy option, especially in cash games.
David Buchanan (SAM)
$7.6K DraftKings, $22 FanDuel
The last two pitchers I like on today's slate are actually from the same game. We'll start with Buchanan since the Lions are favored at home. The American really struggled in his last start, which was a disappointing effort against Hanwha where he gave up eight runs on 12 hits in six innings. However, he had been humming along until then, giving up five earned runs combined in his previous 31.2 innings, which included starts against NC, Doosan, KT, and Kia in their home park.
Since the right-hander doesn't strikeout many batters, he struggles when he gives up too many home runs, as he did against Hanwha. He's given up four of his eight total home runs in his last three starts, which would be more concerning if he wasn't facing an SK team that hit only one home run in the entire month of June off of a right-handed pitcher. The Wyverns are even worse on the road with a 4-17 record and a .230 batting average. I consider Buchanan's last start a small blip and don't think SK can do a lot of damage to him, but his fantasy ceiling is ultimately capped by his lack of strikeouts.
Seung-won Moon (SK)
$7.7K DraftKings, $27 FanDuel
On the other side of the match-up, Moon figures to be lowered own since SK is the road underdog. However, he may very well be the better arm. The right-hander has continued his progression over the last few years by compiling a 3.23 ERA and 1.13 WHIP across nine starts, striking out 52 and walking 12 in 53 innings. He's also been masterful of late, shutting out Doosan at home and Kiwoom on the road while allowing only six hits in those 13 innings and striking out 11. While Samsung has been rising up the standings of late, they've also struggled against right-handed pitching, hitting only .202 as a team in June with zero home runs. They've also struck out 174 times in the month of June, which puts them only two strikeouts from being third-worst in the league. All of which makes me feel like Moon's strikeout potential gives him the higher ceiling in this match-up and could make him a good GPP option.
Other Options
- Je-song Bae (KT) - 6.5K DraftKings, $24 FanDuel - Bae has hit a rough patch of late, giving up five HRs in his last three starts. However, he gets to face a banged-up LG lineup in the best pitcher's park in the league. He's not going to rack up a ton of strikeouts, but he's proven he can be effective when he keeps the ball in the yard, so given the situation, he might be a fine punt play as a salary saver SP2 on DraftKings.
KBO Top Hitter Stacks
NC Dinos
The Dinos are the best team in the KBO (though perhaps not for long) and face the worst pitcher on the slate, so obviously we're going to stack them. Won-sam Jang has only made one appearance on the season, allowing five runs on 10 hits over three innings against Doosan. He wasn't much better last year, finishing with a 7.98 ERA in only eight appearances, or in 2018, when he had a 6.16 ERA in eight games started. The Dinos should jump all over him early, which will force Lotte to use their bullpen a day after their starter only went 2.1 innings in an 11 inning game.
Main Targets:
- Sung-Bum Na - OF (5.7K DraftKings, $18 FanDuel) - Na is a reverse splits hitter, batting .358 against left-handed pitchers, but .548 at home against them. He may have only hit .289 in June and .190 over the last week, but with 6 HRs and 25 RBI, big bopper in the middle of the Dinos' lineup is a common piece of most every stack.
- Jin-Sung Kang - 1B/OF (4.3K DraftKings, $15 FanDuel) - Kang hit 8th in the Dinos' lineup on Tuesday, so keep an eye on his placement, but with Yang likely out, I'd expect him back in the middle of the order. He's hit .424 this year with 5 HRs and 10 RBI against LHP, so he's worthy of being in any lineup despite only hitting .150 over the last week.
- Aaron Altherr - OF (5.0K DraftKings, $16 FanDuel) - Altherr is the Dinos' left-handed killer. Despite being a reverse-splits hitter in the MLB, Athlerr has hit .412 off of lefties this year with 7 HRs, 14 RBI, and 13 R and should be a top target tonight. It doesn't hurt that while his teammates have struggled, he's hit .450 with 4 HRs over the last week.
- Hee-Dong Kwon - OF (2.4K DraftKings, $7 FanDuel) - Kwon hit 2nd last night, which makes him more intriguing for DFS purposes, especially when he's also homered in three straight games. He only hits .259 with no HRs off of left-handed pitching this year, but I'm willing to bank on the recent hot bat.
Secondary Targets:
- Myung-gi Lee - OF (3.3K DraftKings, $9 FanDuel) - Lee is another hitter who hasn't been great versus LHP - hitting .250 on the year - but has been on fire in June. He led the Dinos with a .392 average during the month and scored 17 runs, which may come back into play after leadoff hitter Min Woo Park had to leave Tuesday's game with an injury.
- Eui Ji Yang - C (5.6K DraftKings, $13 FanDuel) - Yang has hit only .259 against LHP this season, and he was removed from Tuesday's game in the 7th with lower back discomfort. I'd expect him to miss this game, but I'm keeping him on here because he'll likely hit clean-up if he does play.
- Tae Goon Kim - C (2.1K DraftKings, $5 FanDuel) - If Yang does indeed miss Wednesday's game, then Kim could be a great salary-saving option at catcher. In limited action, Kim hit .321 in June with one HR and 5 RBI - all of which makes him playable given the lineup around him and his salary.
Kia Tigers
We know Kia crushes at home, hitting .313 with 12 HRs in the friendly confines in the month of June. They're also facing a pitcher who is susceptible to the long ball as Shi-hwan Jang has given up five HRs in only 37.2 innings. With 46 strikeouts over that time, he does have the ability to miss bats, but his 25 walks also suggest that he will give the Tigers many opportunities to put runs up on the board. With Kia's mix of high-priced bats and low-cost salary savers, they could be an attractive stack in this matchup.
- Preston Tucker - OF (6.0K DraftKings, $17 FanDuel) - Tucker leads the Tigers with 11 HRs on the season, six of them coming at home, and five in the month of June, so he remains the best bet for a big game. He's cooled a bit at the plate, hitting .321 in June, but he's also knocked in 15 runs while scoring 14 of his own, so he can fill a statsheet.
- Hyung-woo Choi - 1B/OF (4.7K DraftKings, $13 FanDuel) - Choi was the hottest hitter in the Kia lineup in June. The three-hole hitter hit .371 with 4 HRs and 19 RBI in the month and has hit .338 with 5 HR at home on the season, so the left-handed is one of the prime options to go yard tomorrow.
- Min-Sang Yoo - 1B (3.5K DraftKings, $7 FanDuel) - The left-handed-hitting first baseman got hot during the month of June. He was second on the team with a .347 average and 16 RBIs, while also hitting 3 HRs. He hits in the middle of the order and has the highest batting average at home among regulars (.386), so he's always in a position to put up some points.
- Ho-ryeong Kim - OF (4.0K DraftKings, $10 FanDuel) - Kim started the season in June after a back injury and has hit .289 with 3 HR, and 8 RBI, during the month. He has cooled a little bit of late, but he hits atop the Tigers lineup, which enabled him to score 21 runs during the month and makes him a solid component of any stack.
Secondary Targets:
- Sun-bin Kim - 2B (4.2K DraftKings, $8 FanDuel) - Kim is hitting .331 on the season and .340 at home, so he tends to see the ball well during the homestands. He'll score some runs, but is a relatively empty batting average otherwise.
- Seung-taek Han - C (3.6K DraftKings, $6 FanDuel) - The Tigers rotate their catchers pretty regularly, but it appears to be Han's turn. Keep an eye on the lineup to make sure he's locked in because he has hit .310 at home with all four of his HRs and 10 of his 12 RBI.
Small Stacks
Doosan Bears
The Doosan/Kiwoom game features two average pitchers facing dangerous offenses given that Kiwoom has been on a roll and Doosan is much higher-scoring on the road. The Bears offense was silent in yesterday's 11-2 loss, but they typically come alive on the road, and the Heroes have been the hottest team in the KBO, winning 12 of their last 13. This game has blow-up potential and could be a solid GPP stack; however, the only thing stopping me from buying into it is that Young-ha Lee and Hyun-hee Han both have only given up two home runs on the season, which could cap the offensive output while the starters are in the game. Once the starters are pulled, Kiwoom has the best bullpen in the KBO and is only getting healthier and stronger, which means that Doosan may find it harder to score runs late in the game.
Main Targets:
- Jose Fernandez - 1B/2B (5.9K DraftKings, $17 FanDuel) - Fernandez has cooled off a little of late, but he has hit .405 on the road with 6 HR, 23 RBI, and 32 R from the number two spot in the order. However, he hit 3 HR all of June, so the power has been hit or miss of late.
- Jae Il Oh - 1B (3.9K DraftKings, $15 FanDuel) - Oh is hitting .405 on the road this year with 5 HR and 20 RBI. He hit .356 in the month of June with 3 HR and 10 RBI, so, like Fernandez, he hasn't seen a power explosion, but the consistent contact in the middle of the order is there.
- Jae Hwan Kim - 1B/OF (5.4K DraftKings, $17 FanDuel) Kim has the most road HRs of any of the Bears, knocking 9 HR with 32 RBI and 26 R in road games this year. Hitting in the middle of the line-up, that makes him perhaps the most enticing option among the higher-priced players.
- Kun Woo Park - OF (3.9K DraftKings, $13 FanDuel) - The leadoff hitter is batting .373 on the road with 3 HR, 17 RBI, and 28 R. He was also the team's best hitter in the month of June, with a .444 average 2 HR, 16 RBI, and 22 R. If the Bears put up crooked numbers, he's usually involved.
- Joo-Hwan Choi - 1B/2B (3.1K DraftKings, $13 FanDuel) - Choi has also cooled off a bit since the early part of the month, especially in the power department, but he's still a fixture in the lineup at a low cost and hit .313 with 3 HR and 19 RBI in June, which makes him a viable salary-saving option on DraftKings.
- Kyoung Min Hur - 3B (2.9K DraftKings, $8 FanDuel) - Hur returned from a hamstring injury on June 23rd and has been seeing the ball very well since coming back. He's hitting .313 with 2 HR and 6 RBI, including going 6-for-15 over his last four games. He hits near the bottom of the order, so the counting stats don't usually follow, but 3B is often a dumpster fire on Draftkings, so he's an intriguing low-cost option across the board.
Kiwoom Heroes
Kiwoom as a team hits better on the road, but it's hard to fade a team that is this hot, so you may have to pick your spots wisely.
Main Targets:
- Jung-Ho Lee - OF (4.5K DraftKings, $14 FanDuel) - Lee is the Heroes best hitter and has hit .398 at home with 4 HR, 21 RBI, and 17 R. He is at the center of almost everything they do on offense and as solid a one-off or small stack option as you'll get considering his price.
- Don-Won Park- C (5.1K DraftKings, $9 FanDuel) - Park has been pushing Yang as the #1 fantasy catcher in the KBO, and his price is starting to reflect that. Still, he's hitting .294 with 5 HR and 21 RBI at home which could make him intriguing despite his relatively quiet June of .250, 3 HR, 12 RBI, and 10 R.
- Ha-Seong Kim - SS (5.2K DraftKings, $16 FanDuel) - Kim is tied for second on the team with 4 HRs at home and has paired that with a .312 average and 5 SBs. He was also swinging a hot bat before getting hurt, with 6 HRs, 16 RBI and 19 R in June. He was supposed to be activated Tuesday, so keep an eye on the lineups because it could come before Wednesday's game.
- Jeong-Hyeop Heo OF (2.1K DraftKings, $7 FanDuel) - Heo has hit .356 at home on the season with 3 HR. He hits near the bottom of the order, so he only has 9 RBI and 8 R in those home contests, but his average and consistent spot in the lineup make him intriguing at that salary, especially since he's riding a five-game hitting streak.
- Keon-Chang Seo - 1B/2B (4.1K DraftKings, $10 FanDuel) - Seo hits lead-off for the Heroes and has hit .313 at home on the season with 13 R and 6 SB. That speed and lineup spot raise his fantasy floor and keep him on the radar despite hitting only .268 in June.
- Hye-Sung Kim - 2B/SS (2.7K DraftKings, $9 FanDuel) Kim offers solid production at a budget cost. He has hits in 9 of his last 10 games and batted .310 in June with 4 HR, 17 RBI, 19 R, and 3 SB. If you need to pay up elsewhere, like perhaps with Koo on the mound, having him in your lineup could allow for it.
Good luck with your DFS contests everyone. Be sure to stop back every day for more KBO DFS analysis here at RotoBaller!
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