South Korea's KBO League is bringing live baseball back in our lives, and that means the return of daily fantasy baseball with real cash prizes on FanDuel!
First pitch on Saturday is at 1:00 am ET, and official lineups typically come out an hour before game time at the earliest.
Scoring is identical to what we see in MLB DFS, but FanDuel is condensing the number of starting spots to seven. You start one pitcher as usual, and then only need to roster two infielders, two outfielders, and two utility players to fill out the rest. Your total team salary is also $100 instead of $35,000.
Some websites that can help you get started include MyKBO Stats, FanGraphs, and Baseball-Reference.
Below is an overview of tonight's starting pitchers and their relevant 2020 stats sorted by FanDuel salary. Opposing team stats are also from this season. Multi-year park factors from the Korean website, Statiz.
Note that on FanDuel these hurlers are listed by their team names (ex: "SK Starting P"), so those are also included.
| Pitcher | Salary | L/R | Opp. | FIP | ERA | WHIP | K% | BB% | Opp. R/G | Opp. K% | Park |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chang-mo Koo (NC) | $29 | L | @HAN | 2.23 | 0.51 | 0.60 | 30.9% | 7.3% | 3.43 | 19.4% | 978 |
| Chris Flexen (Doosan) | $27 | R | KIA | 4.01 | 2.61 | 1.19 | 22.2% | 10.3% | 5.00 | 16.4% | 959 |
| Drew Gagnon (Kia) | $26 | R | @DOO | 2.38 | 3.95 | 1.10 | 33.0% | 5.4% | 6.33 | 14.8% | 959 |
| Dan Straily (Lotte) | $25 | R | KT | 3.54 | 2.70 | 1.32 | 26.4% | 10.7% | 6.44 | 17.3% | 1022 |
| Jong-hoon Park (SK) | $25 | R | SAM | 4.09 | 3.54 | 1.29 | 24.1% | 8.6% | 4.96 | 18.3% | 1038 |
| Je-seong Bae (KT) | $24 | R | @LOT | 3.92 | 2.67 | 1.45 | 15.3% | 9.2% | 4.22 | 17.0% | 1022 |
| Chae-heung Choi (Samsung) | $24 | L | @SK | 4.31 | 3.21 | 1.25 | 19.3% | 10.1% | 4.22 | 19.2% | 1038 |
| Tyler Wilson (LG) | $22 | R | @KIW | 4.24 | 4.60 | 1.16 | 17.4% | 5.8% | 6.07 | 18.5% | 979 |
| Seung-ho Lee (Kiwoom) | $21 | L | LG | 6.37 | 7.83 | 1.65 | 15.4% | 8.6% | 6.00 | 16.7% | 979 |
| Chad Bell (Hanwha) | $20 | L | NC | 5.48 | 5.14 | 2.00 | 11.8% | 20.6% | 6.85 | 17.5% | 978 |
Let's check out which pitchers and stacks stand out on tonight's slate
Pitchers
This is a loaded pitching slate, with half of tonight's starters exceeding a 20% strikeout rate and two even surpassing 30%.
And yet, tonight's top arm is abundantly clear.
Chang-mo Koo (NC Starting P; $29) is one of those guys sporting a strikeout rate over 30%, and he leads the way with sparkling marks in FIP, ERA, and WHIP. And on top of all that, he's facing the Hanwha Eagles, who are quickly becoming a nightly lineup to attack as the only team scoring fewer than four runs per game. Toss in a pitcher-friendly ballpark, and Koo is worth paying the premium for as the night's more expensive pitcher.
Chris Flexen (Doosan Starting P; $27) is another safe play against a middle-of-the-road offense in the Kia Tigers, and he'll also benefit from a hitter-suppressing venue. His upside may be capped against a team that strike out just 16.4% of the time, possibly limiting some of his appeal, but it's also hard to see him truly killing your lineup.
Drew Gagnon (Kia Starting P; $26) and Dan Straily (Lotte Starting P; $25) are where things really get interesting. These two have come out of the gate swinging in the KBO, with Gagnon having particularly eye-popping stats with a 33.0% strikeout rate paired with a mere 5.4% walk rate. The problem? Gagnon is facing the dreaded Doosan Bears, and Straily is taking on the KT Wiz. Still, in spite of the risks, the upside is hard to resist, so don't rule them out in tournaments.
Chae-heung Choi (Samsung Starting P; $24) is probably the cheapest I would go, with a solid 19.3% strikeout rate against an SK Wyverns squad that strikes out at a high rate. His opposing counterpart, Jong-hoon Park (SK Starting P; $25) looks good on paper, but he only recorded a 15.6% strikeout rate in 2019, so it's hard to fully buy into his rise in punchouts.
Ultimately, I'd lean heavily on Koo in your lineups, but it's worth sprinkling in your favorite(s) among the rest in case one of them hits their ceiling tonight.
Stacks
The NC Dinos have been obliterating opposing pitchers lately, now averaging nearly seven runs per game and leading the league in home runs by a wide margin (44) over the LG Twins and KT Wiz (31 each).
Chad Bell would appear ill-equipped to slow them down, returning from an elbow injury and struggling with walks through two abridged 2020 starts. He was solid in 2019, posting a 4.11 FIP, 17.9% strikeout rate, and 8.4% walk rate, but this will be a tall order as he tries to regain his form.
With Bell being a lefty, Eui-Ji Yang ($14), Suk-Min Park ($10), and Jin-Sung Kang ($10) get a boost, as does Aaron Altherr ($11), who's been producing despite batting low in the order. And don't let the lefty-lefty matchup stop you from rostering Dinos star Sung-bum Na ($16).
The LG Twins also stand out due to their matchup against Seung-ho Lee, a southpaw who's really scuffling through five starts. Lee is showing an egregious 6.37 FIP thus far and owns a career 5.15 ERA and 1.52 WHIP since debuting in 2018. He posted an identical 15.4% strikeout rate last year, too, so it's not like we're expecting an increase in firepower, either.
Since we're dealing with a left-hander, Eun-Sung Chae ($11) is a solid value at this price, and don't sleep on catcher Kang-Nam Yoo ($8) near the bottom of the order. Yoo has registered a .205 ISO with four home runs in 2020 and slugged 16 dingers in 2019. Meanwhile, Roberto Ramos ($17) has already homered a dozen times, so yeah, you want him in any Twins stack.
Beyond the Dinos and Twins, it gets a little tricky to find a third stack amidst the slew of strong pitchers, but perhaps the Samsung Lions are worth a look against the aforementioned Jong-hoon Park.
The 28-year-old Park has performed fairly well in recent seasons, but we're still talking about a pitcher who owns a modest career 4.59 ERA and 1.46 WHIP. We're not necessarily dealing with a bad pitcher, but he may be playing over his head this year. As noted earlier, his jump in strikeout rate appears out of place, as he's finished each of the past five campaigns below 20%. While it's possible he's found another gear, he's more likely to come back down to earth.
This seems like more of a neutral matchup, and with the Wyverns play in a hitter-friendly venue, the Lions could be a sneaky play. Samsung will also help you pay up for pitcher Chang-mo Koo, since no hitter is priced in double digits. Tyler Saladino ($8) and Dong-Yeop Kim ($9) are top sticks, and Min-Ho Kang ($7) is a home-run-or-bust bat towards the bottom.