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 22, 2020. You can check our daily KBO Betting Picks as well, which Steve usually posts around 8 PM.

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DISCLAIMER: There are two games (Kia-Hanwha and NC-Samsung) that seem likely to be rained out. As a result, I'm going to focus my analysis more on the three games that I feel confident are going to be played, but I'll drop in a few notes about the rain-threatened games at the bottom in case they play (which appears unlikely at the time of publishing). Remember that in a rain-affected slate, you could have a lot of money leftover if few games are played and that's OK in that situation. 

 

KBO Pitchers

Geon-Wook Lee (SK)

6.3K DraftKings/ $22 FanDuel

Welcome to your offerings on a limited slate. I rarely recommend an SK arm, especially when the teams combined for 15 runs the night before, but Lee finds himself in a decent spot here. For one, he has been throwing the ball well of late. He comes into the game 4-2 with a 3.08 ERA and 1.21 WHIP, and he survived his stiffest test with starts against NC and Doosan over his last two. In those two appearances, he threw 13 innings, allowing four earned runs on eight hits with nine strikeouts to only one walk. That's a tremendous performance considering the 25-year-old started the year in the bullpen. Now he gets a Lotte team that is hitting .286 in July (.271 on the road) and has the second-fewest strikeouts in the league over that time. It's by no means a plus matchup, but the Giants are a right-handed dominant offense and Lee allows only a .181 batting average to righties and has yet to give up a home run to them. While Lotte won't strikeout, which limits Lee's upside, I think he presents a pretty safe floor which should be valuable on a likely limited slate, and his salary on DraftKings makes him affordable as either an SP1 or SP2.

 

William Cuevas (KT)

9.0K DraftKings/ $27 FanDuel

If you want to chase a little more upside then Cuevas is your man. The right-hander is beginning to find his footing after a rough start to the season and has allowed two earned runs or less in four of his last five starts. Admittedly, the competition hasn't been great over that stretch but LG is also hitting .256 as a team in the month of July, which is second-worst in the league (also, the rising team averages should tell you how tired pitchers are getting in this compacted season). Over that same span, the Twins have struck out the fourth-most in the league, which is potentially good news since Cuevas has registered 48 strikeouts in 61 innings and has 13 combined over his last two starts. Cuevas has also only given up five home runs on the year, so he seems likely to limit the big inning against an LG team with some dangerous hitters. That left-handed power could pose an issue for Cuevas, who allows a .295 batting average to lefties and is why he's a riskier option than Lee.

 

Min-ho Lee (LG)

7.5K DraftKings/ $26 FanDuel

Min-ho Lee has by far the best stats of any pitcher on the mound tonight. The 18-year-old comes into this game with a 1.80 ERA and 1.17 WHIP across eight games and six starts. He has handled every team he's faced this year and that includes Doosan, NC, and this same KT team. However, his start against KT was at Jamsil, and the Wiz are a totally different team when they're at home. In July, they are tops in the league with a .330 home batting average and second with 17 home runs. Min-ho has yet to allow a home run this year, which means he could suppress the big inning, but facing the Wiz at home is a tall order for such a young kid. One way he could return big value is to take advantage of the Wiz's league-leading strikeout rate, and Min-ho does have 29 strikeouts in 40 innings this year; however, he will still be a risky option against an offense that could blow up in any inning.

 

Chi-guk Park (DOO)

5.5K DraftKings/ $21 FanDuel

You know we like to pay down for an SP2 on DraftKings, and you're not going to find starters much cheaper than Park is tonight. Park has been extraordinary for the Bears out of the bullpen, compiling a 3-1 record, 2.76 ERA, and 21 strikeouts in 29.1 innings. He's only allowed one run over his last 18.1 innings, so he's coming into the game with the best form of anybody on the slate. Despite the fact that he has only pitched in relief, he threw 56 pitches over four innings in his last appearance against SK, so there is a chance he could be stretched to five innings. Kiwoom does hit better on the road than at home, but Jamsil is the only real pitcher's park in the league, which should take some of the power out of their bats, and Kiwoom as the second-most strikeouts in the league, which could give Park a solid floor even if he doesn't throw long enough for the win. On a slate like tonight, I might say "Why not?" and give him a shot.

 

• Drew Rucinski (NC) 10.0K DraftKings/ $30 FanDuel and Hyun-Jong Yang (KIA) 8.6K DraftKings/ $24 FanDuel are both options if their games play. In fact, Rucinski would likely be my top arm on the slate, and Yang is in play as an SP2 on DraftKings because he's set to face Hanwha.

 

KBO Hitters

Since we likely only have three games tonight due to weather, it doesn't really make sense to think about lineups in regards to what teams you want to stack. I'll give you some thoughts on each lineup, and I would recommend mixing and matching hitters based on their safety (for Cash games) or relative upside (for GPP contents). I'll try and give some guidance in the comments. 

 

LG @ KT

As I mentioned above, LG has the second-worst batting average in the KBO in the month of July; however, it is slightly better on the road outside of Jamsil. A .268 team average in July isn't anything to write home about, but their 21 HRs in the month are one off the lead. The only issue is that Cuevas hasn't really surrendered a lot of HRs.

We face a similar issue with KT. They are the best home offense in the league in July but face a pitcher in Min-ho Lee who has been dynamic this season. Given how young Lee is and how good KT has been, I would lean towards KT inflicting some damage against him, but they're not without risk given his run of performances up until now.

• Mel Rojas Jr.- OF (6.5K DraftKings, $18 FanDuel) - Rojas is in play on any slate as you can see from the 57 combined DraftKings points he's scored over the last two games. He's gone 6-8 with 3 HR and 5 RBI over that span on top of his .448 average and 7 HR in the month of July. People may be fading him given Lee's stats, but I wouldn't be one.
• Jae Gyun Hwang - 3B (5.6K DraftKings, $12 FanDuel) - Hwang is also seeing the ball well having homered last night and in two of his last six games. He carries a .368 July average in this game along with 3 HR, 10 RBI, and 16 runs hitting near the top of the Wiz lineup. He hits righties fairly well, so don't be scared off by the match-up.
• Baek-ho Kang - 1B/OF (5.7K DraftKings, $14 FanDuel) - Kang is on a bit of a cold streak, having only four total hits in his last eight games. The power has also dried up a bit with 0 HRs off of right-handed pitching this month. However, he has still hit .297 off of them over that span and remains in the middle of the Wiz lineup, so if you wanted to take a shot in a GPP, it could hit.
• Jeong-Dae Bae- OF (3.3K DraftKings, $13 FanDuel) - One day they'll price this man fairly on DraftKings. Bae added another steal last night to give him 11 on the season, and he remains a consistent hitter with a .328 average on the season and a .353 average against right-handed pitching in July. He's consistent and safe.
• Roberto Ramos - 1B (4.9K DraftKings, $15 FanDuel) - Ramos is the Twins' power source with 17 HRs on the year, so if you're betting on anybody getting to Cuevas, it could be him. He has hit only .246 in July, so he's slowing down, but his 4 HR in the month, and one last night, show that the pop is still there.
• Hyun-Soo Kim - OF (4.8K DraftKings, $16 FanDuel) - Kim has been the Twins' best hitter in the month with a .338 average, 7 HR and 24 RBI. Despite Ramos being the big name, I'd trust Kim a little bit more, especially since he's gone 9-for-18 over his last 5 games.
• Ji-hwan Oh - SS (4.1K DraftKings, $10 FanDuel) - Oh is a strong option at a shallow position on DraftKings. He's averaged 16.6 DraftKings points over his last five games and has hit .333 with 4 HR, 14 RBI, and 13 runs scored. Even if Cuevas pitches well, Oh could have a few hits and return value at a rough position.

 

Lotte @ SK

These teams scored 15 combined runs last night, so it's certainly possible we could see some fireworks tonight too. We've already covered that I like Geon-Wook Lee, so I don't expect to roster many Giants bats, but the Wyverns will face the worst pitcher on the slate in Won-Sam Jang. The right-hander comes in with an 8.38 ERA and 1.71 WHIP over four starts and has given up four home runs in his last three outings. If he was facing any other team, I might suggest a full team stack, but the Wyverns simply don't have the bats for that and have hit only .261 in July.

• Jamie Romak - 1B/OF (4.6K DraftKings, $12 FanDuel) - Romak went 3-5 with a HR last night and has two HR in his last three games. He was coming off a cold streak, so the power is nice to see, and he leads the team with 5 HR in the month of July. You can certainly bet on the hot bat here.
• Jeong Choi - 3B/SS (5.4K DraftKings, $14 FanDuel) - Choi has been banged up a little lately with recent stints on the DL for a knee and pelvis injury. However, he has been effective when on the field, hitting .373 with 5 HR, 14 RBI, and 2 SB in the month. If I was going to pay up at SS or 3B, he'd be my target over Hwang.
• Tae-in Chae - 1B (2.3K DraftKings, $6 FanDuel) - Everybody likes a bargain-priced option and Chae has been crushing it for SK in July, hitting .383 with 2 HR and 13 RBI. He just went 2-3 last night, so I'd expect him to be in the line-up, but you should check first.
• Joon-Woo Choi - 2B (2.7K DraftKings, $6 FanDuel) - Choi is another salary-saver who could be viable considering he's hit .328 in July with 2 HR and 12 runs scored. He's not going to put up huge numbers for you, but if you need to spend up elsewhere, he's not a bad option to save the cash.
• Dae Hoe Lee (LOT) - 1B (4.5K DraftKings, $12 FanDuel) - If somebody is going to get to Lee, I'd bet on Dae Ho Lee. The first baseman has gone 4-for9- with a HR, 3 RBI, and 3 runs over the last two games, so he's certainly seeing the ball well. He's the kind of bat that can change your slate with one swing, so if you were going to hedge against Lee, he'd be my bet.
• Jun-Woo Jeon (LOT) - OF (4.4K DraftKings, $13 FanDuel) - Jeon is another solid option if you're hedging against Lee. He averages 9.1 points per game on DraftKings and is three games removed from a stretch where he put up 19, 23, and 23 DraftKings points. Lotte isn't my favorite option, but he's in play if you want to go there.

 

Kiwoom @ Doosan

We don't usually play Doosan at home because of the way Jamsil can sap power but don't read that to mean Doosan is a bad home offense. In fact, they're tied with KT for the best home batting average in the month of July. The issue is simply that it's not coming with much power. As a result, I wouldn't load my lineups with Bears hitters, especially ones who rely on power for fantasy success, but they do have a few players that could provide you with a good foundation against Won-Tae Choi, who seems to have had the wheels fall off with 11 earned runs over his last two starts.

On the other hand, Kiwoom may be facing a bullpen game, which is historically good news in the KBO, even if the bullpen arm happens to be good. Kiwoom also is a much better hitting team on the road but that production usually comes in the form of power, which, as we've mentioned, is basically sapped in Jamsil. As a result, I can't see myself rostering many of Kiwoom's streaky power-heavy bats since I don't feel comfortable banking on the power.

 

• Jose Fernandez - 1B/2B (6.1 DraftKings, $17 FanDuel) - I can't see myself paying up for Fernandez tonight. He hits .328 on the season at home and .300 there in July but only has 3 HRs at Jamsil during the entire season, so he's going to need to knock in a bunch of runs to pay off that price. It could happen, but I'd rather pay up for Ramos.
• Kyoung Min Hur - 3B (4.3K DraftKings, $10 FanDuel) - Hur is the Bears' best hitter at Jamsil with a .409 average to go along with 14 RBI and 5 SB. Obviously, the power isn't there but I'll take the safety of batting average, batting order spot, and speed.
• Joo-Hwan Choi - 1B/2B (3.8K DraftKings, $14 FanDuel) - Choi has gone a little cold in recent games, but I'm not worried about that against a weak arm. He hits .282 with 3 HR, 15 RBI, and 31 runs at home, and you're not paying a hefty price to secure his service as a weak position like 2B.
• Se-Hyuk Park - C (3.6K DraftKings, $8 FanDuel) - Park is perhaps my favorite option at catcher since the top two catchers likely won't be an option tonight. He has hits in three straight and has hit .290 at Jamsil on the season. Plus, he hits better against right-handed pitching, which will be a bonus tonight.
• Jung-Ho Lee - OF (5.1K DraftKings, $16 FanDuel) - Lee has been Kiwoom's best and most fantasy-relevant hitter. He's hitting .356 on the year with 12 HR, 52 RBI, and averaging 10.5 points per game on DraftKings. He has two HRs in his last four games, but his fantasy success is not predicated on power, so he could make for a solid one-off if you want to bet against the unproven Doosan arm.
• Keon-Chang Seo - 1B/2B (4.7K DraftKings, $13 FanDuel) - Seo went 3-4 last night and leads the KBO with 16 stolen bases on the year. His game is not based on power but solid on-base skills and speed, which means that he won't be negatively impacted by Jamsil.

 

Good luck in your DFS contests everyone. Be sure to stop back every day for some more KBO DFS analysis here at RotoBaller!

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