RADIO
Welcome back, RotoBallers, to another KBO DFS column. You may have seen me on Twitter as @DfsKbo, and I’m here today writing up my breakdown for tonight’s slate. We have a little bit of a funky lock here as KTW @ LG starts at 1:00 am EST, while the other four games start at 4:00 am EST. Due to this, we may see higher ownership in that first game as people may not want to wait longer for lineups, but I think the edge will only be minor.
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.
Today, I'll be providing my KBO DFS lineup picks and analysis for this five-game slates on DraftKings and FanDuel that start at 1:00 AM on Saturday, May 23, 2020. Make sure you are also following me @DfsKbo on Twitter!
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KBO DFS Pitchers
Tae-hoon Kim - SK (DraftKings - $7,300, FanDuel - $21)
Kim Tae Hoon is the Happiest Pitcher in the World.
K or BB, my man is always ? pic.twitter.com/Zfdv2pVpvD
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) May 16, 2020
The happiest pitcher in the world takes the bump tonight, and he has been cruising in his first full year as a starter, limiting Lotte to two runs on two hits in 6 IP and NCD to 0 runs on two hits in 7 IP. If I was dealing like that I’d be smiling too. In what should be a low scoring game, with Aaron Brooks on the other side also in a great spot, I expect Kim to keep it going in what may be his best matchup yet.
This may be noisy just 16 games into the season, but KIA has a team batting average about .80 points lower on the road than they do at home this year, and a batting average about .15 lower against LHP than against RHP. Small sample size, but it’s something to take note of. Although he’s mainly been out of the pen in his career, he hosts a career K rate of 21.2%, which is one of the best you’ll see in the KBO.
With KIA’s 3-4 hitters both from the left side, Kim could have a lot of success navigating through this lineup. He should come in fairly lower owned than his counterpart in Aaron Brooks, who should be no slouch tonight either. Don’t be expecting a lot of offense in this one tonight.
Erik Jokisch - KIW (DraftKings - $8,900, FanDuel - $27)
The Joker toes the rubber again tonight, looking to add yet another dominant performance. We’ve been riding him all year to the green, and tonight could be much of the same. The Lotte matchup doesn’t stand out as a particularly great one, and with them going off last night we may see a few people be scared off of Jokisch tonight.
While Jokisch has K’d a respectable 14 batters on 17 innings this year, he is also great at forcing hitters to pound the ball into the ground, allowing zero home runs this year and only nine last year on 181.1 IP. Regardless of the matchup, Jokisch comes with elite stuff (relative to this league) and should be able to get the job done tonight. Another small sample size, but in 60 ABs against LHP for Lotte this year, they are only hitting 0.183.
Other options to consider:
- Aaron Brooks (DraftKings - $7,800, FanDuel - $25)
- Drew Rucinski (DraftKings - $9,300, FanDuel - $26)
KBO Top Hitter Stacks
LG Twins
Unfortunately, one of the best spots tonight is in that early game, where we may see inflated ownership. However, I still like LG tonight as they’re facing a pitcher who has given up a full run per inning this year, backed by the second worst bullpen in the KBO. Min Kim has had his struggled against lefties in his career, and three of LG’s best pitchers are LHH Lee, Kim, and Ramos.
Although LG plays in the best pitchers park in the KBO lowering their upside, they’ve faired fine there this year only hitting .03 points lower, so basically the exact same as on the road. Three-hole Eun-sung Chae has also been heating up, going deep in back to back games. Great spot here for the Twinkies.
Players to consider:
- Chun-woong Lee (OF)
- Hyun-soo Kim (OF)
- Eun-sung Chae (OF)
- Roberto Ramos (1B)
- Ji Hwan Oh (SS)
Doosan Bears
While Doosan hasn’t seen as many home runs as they’re used to the past week, there was no shortage of runs last night at Samsung. A powerful LHH lineup, Doosan is hitting .326 as a team against RHP this year, and .347 on the road.
They get to play again tonight in the best hitters park in the KBO against a pitcher making his first start since 2018 with a career ERA north of 6. Samsung also only has two LHP in their bullpen, both in which they used last night, and one who has thrown the past three games for Samsung. Even with Jae-Il Oh being out and former MVP Jae-hwan Kim looking totally lost at the plate the past week, this is a spot where Doosan will most likely rack up the runs again.
We’ll have to wait for what should be a unique lineup again with their injuries, but they should be fine. While Jae-hwan Kim is a staple in the middle of this order, he has not looked himself recently, but sees another plus matchup tonight that could get him going again.
Players to consider:
- Jose Fernandez (1B/2B)
- Joo-hwan Choi (1B/2B)
- Jae-hwan Kim (1B,OF)
- Se-hyuk Park (C)
- Ji-hyuk Ryu (2B/SS)
- And certainly Jae-ill Oh (1B) if he should find his way back in the lineup
Other stacks to consider:
- Kiwoom Heroes (top of the order)
- Samsung Lions (middle of the order)
- NC Dinos (LHH + Yang, Altherr)
Good luck in your contests everyone, and stop back again for more KBO DFS analysis at RotoBaller!
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