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Brian McKendry's KBO DFS lineup picks for contests on FanDuel and DraftKings on 5/7/20. Daily fantasy baseball analysis for pitchers, hitters and DFS stacks.
Welcome back, RotoBallers, to another KBO DFS column. Have you caught KBO fever yet? Yesterday we picked two foreign pitchers who had solid outings in their KBO debut and today we're predicting another solid start from a former major leaguer. Our process is pitcher focused as that's where we think we have an edge. We may not have projections but we've watched the pre-season exhibition starts of all of our picks and stack targets.
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 very different.
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 Thursday, May 7, 2020. Both DraftKings and FanDuel have large contests with big top prizes. Fanduel has another contest with a top prize of $20K to first. DraftKings has upped the top prize in its largest contest to $50K to first. Make sure you are also following me @Grownfool on Twitter!
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KBO DFS Pitchers
Strikeout rates are much lower in KBO. An average MLB K% would be among the league leaders in KBO. The lower strikeout numbers make innings and wins much more important for KBO DFS. Most of the league leaders in innings pitched last season were foreign pitchers.
Some foreign pitchers have thrown limited innings as not all of them are stretched out. After pre-season games were canceled in mid-March, most foreign pitchers returned home and had to quarantine for 14 days upon return. That should not be an issue today as both Chris Flexen and David Buchanan threw more than 80 pitches in their last exhibition game appearance.
Chris Flexen - Doosan Starting P ($9200 DraftKings / $27 FanDuel)
Today is Flexen's first KBO start and he could be another MLB bust that goes overlooked. Once a top Mets prospect, Flexen ran out of opportunities and was designated for assignment last season. Flexen showed some promise in AAA last year with 10.5 SO/9. His average fastball velocity in nine MLB appearances was 94.5 mph.
In a league full of soft tossers like KBO, that's some serious heat. In a five-inning exhibition start, Flexen struck out five, walked one, and gave up zero runs. He threw 82 pitches so there shouldn't be any innings limit concerns. It's another bullpen game for LG so Doosan should get the win.
Chang Mo Koo - NC Starting P ($5700 DraftKings / $24 FanDuel)
Koo led all starters in KBO last season with a 9.6 K/9 and also was top ten in WHIP. Still only 23, he could be even better this season. Samsung was roughly league average last season versus leftys. Koo is in a good spot to get the win.
KBO Top Hitter Stacks
KBO de-juiced the ball last season and power numbers declined. Building stacks around power hitters will be the key to success in KBO DFS. The best stacks are less likely to be straight 1-4 hitters and more likely to be something less traditional like skipping over multiple hitters in the order. Don't overlook hitters batting sixth and seventh especially in top offenses.
NC Dinos
David Buchanan is on the mound for the Lions in his first KBO start. Last season, Buchanan pitched for NPB's Yakult Swallows and spent part of the year on their minor league squad. In 18 NPB starts, Buchanan gave up 10 HRs with a paltry 13% K rate. In an 84 pitch three-inning exhibition game appearance, Buchanan gave up four runs on seven hits.
In the first two games, the Dinos have hit five HRs and possibly have one of the deepest lineups in KBO. The fifth, sixth and seventh hitters have all hit home runs. Eu Ji Yang led the team in HRs last season but is slugging only .286 with only one hit. Aaron Altherr hit a HR yesterday and also hit two balls to warning track on opening day.
- Aaron Altherr - C ($5900 DraftKings / $13 FanDuel)
- Suk-Min Park - 3B ($4700 DraftKings / $11 FanDuel)
- Sung Bum Na - OF ($3900 DraftKings / $11 FanDuel)
- Chang Min Mo - 1B/3B ($4800 DraftKings / $12 FanDuel)
- Jin Hyuk No - 2B/3B ($3400 DraftKings / $8 FanDuel)
- Eui Ji Yang - C ($5000 DraftKings / $12 FanDuel)
SK Wyverns
After facing two pitchers in this series who don't give up many home runs, the Wyverns go up against Shi Hwan Jang who is no stranger to giving up the long ball. In 27 starts last season, Jang gave up 12 HRs including two multi HR appearances.
Jang didn't give up any HRs in his exhibition starts but did give up five earned runs on five hits in his last four-inning exhibition start. Munhak is one of the most hitter-friendly parks in the KBO as it is only 95m to the corners. Jamie Romak and Jeong Choi tied for the team lead in HRs at 29.
Dong Min Han is also a power threat and hit two out yesterday. Rounding out Wyverns power hitters are Eui Yoon Jeong and Jae Won Lee who both hit 12 HR last season. Both Soo Kwang Noh and Jong Wook Ko got the day off yesterday versus a lefty. Both are stolen base threats and should be back in the lineup today.
- Jeong Choi - 3B/SS ($5500 DraftKings / $16 FanDuel)
- Jamie Romak - 1B/OF ($6100 DraftKings / $15 FanDuel)
- Eui Yoon Jeong - OF ($2700 DraftKings / $10 FanDuel)
- Dong Min Han - OF ($4000 DraftKings / $11 FanDuel)
- Jae Won Lee - C ($3500 DraftKings / $9 FanDuel)
- Soo Kwang Noh - OF ($3400 DraftKings / $12 FanDuel)
- Jong Wook Ko - OF ($4100 DraftKings / $12 FanDuel)
Conclusion
- Starting lineups will not be released until one hour before lock. Note the start time of these contests and be prepared to stay up late or get up early. Most lineups yesterday were close to what we expected for most teams especially the top and middle of the order. Pay close attention to catchers.
- Go easy on these early in the season slates and have some fun with it. There's going to be a learning curve here for everyone with a new sport like this and you don't want to play more bankroll than you're comfortable with on players you've never heard of before.
- Use familiar MLB DFS strategies like stacking and picking on bad pitchers. Once we get to know these teams better and get more data on hitters and pitchers we should be able to have a better indication of who we want to target on a nightly basis.
- Good luck and have some fun! Just be thankful that baseball, in some form, is back!
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