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 Tuesday is at 5:30 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 sorted by FanDuel salary with their 2020 numbers. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hyeong-jun So (KT) | $28 | R | KIA | 4.98 | 5.34 | 1.43 | 8.0% | 5.6% | 4.83 | 16.2% | 973 |
| Warwick Saupold (Hanwha) | $27 | R | @LOT | 3.81 | 3.07 | 1.27 | 11.6% | 5.8% | 4.14 | 17.0% | 1022 |
| Tae-in Won (Samsung) | $26 | R | KIW | 4.40 | 2.45 | 1.12 | 15.8% | 6.0% | 5.87 | 18.7% | 1093 |
| Je-yeong Jo (Doosan) | $25 | R | @NC | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | 7.14 | 17.3% | 1012 |
| Young-gun Jo (Kiwoom) | $25 | R | @SAM | 6.59 | 3.00 | 1.17 | 8.7% | 13.0% | 4.87 | 18.9% | 1093 |
| Hyun-jong Yang (Kia) | $25 | L | @KT | 4.37 | 4.22 | 1.25 | 16.4% | 6.7% | 6.07 | 18.0% | 973 |
| Sung-young Choi (NC) | $25 | L | DOO | 8.44 | 5.14 | 1.71 | 5.7% | 5.7% | 6.14 | 15.0% | 1012 |
| Casey Kelly (LG) | $24 | R | SK | 3.47 | 6.12 | 1.52 | 20.5% | 8.0% | 4.14 | 18.9% | 959 |
| Adrian Sampson (Lotte) | $24 | R | HAN | 4.37 | 9.39 | 2.09 | 15.4% | 10.3% | 3.33 | 19.7% | 1022 |
| Geon-wook Lee (SK) | $22 | R | @LG | 4.01 | 4.63 | 1.29 | 20.0% | 8.0% | 6.00 | 16.5% | 959 |
Let's check out which pitchers and stacks stand out on tonight's slate
Pitchers
This is a bit of a wonky pitching slate, as the high-priced arms are lacking the strikeout upside we're accustomed to seeing. We have quite a few inexperienced pitchers on the mound, too, including 19-year-old Je-yeong Jo, who is making his KBO debut for the Doosan Bears.
The good news is there's still value to found on this slate, with Casey Kelly (LG Starting P; $24) looking like the main guy we want in our lineups.
Kelly may have an ugly, ugly 6.12 ERA, but just about everything else checks out for him if we're willing to look past that. Between a .359 BABIP and 55.9% strand rate, it's no wonder there's such a massive gap between his 3.47 FIP and that bloated ERA, and he also boasts a slate-best 20.5% strikeout rate.
On top of all that, he was excellent over 29 starts in 2019 (2.55 ERA and 1.14 WHIP), further suggesting he should have better results moving forward. Throw in a pitcher-friendly venue and a SK Wyverns team that's struggled to score runs, and everything lines up for Kelly tonight. The LG Twins are massive -260 favorites on FanDuel Sportsbook.
Meanwhile, Adrian Sampson (Lotte Starting P; $24) has struggled over two KBO starts, so we would normally pass right over him -- except he's facing the Hanwha Eagles.
The last place Eagles are losers of 14 straight games and have become a nightly team to attack with opposing pitchers. Hanwha's manager resigned after their latest loss and the team is doing a massive roster overhaul, calling up nine minor leaguers at once. Seeing as the minor league team is 9-9-1, this influx of fresh faces isn't likely to turn things around.
Given the dearth of options tonight, you could do worse than see if Sampson can take advantage here. He threw 84 pitches in his last start, so he should be at or close to a full workload now.
Outside of Kelly and Sampson, Hyun-jong Yang (Kia Starting P; $25) might be the one other guy to give a look. Neither his 2020 numbers nor his matchup against the KT Wiz are particularly captivating, but Yang was lights out in 2019, posting a 2.59 FIP, 22.3% strikeout rate, and 4.5% walk rate, so it's possible we haven't seen his best yet. Although Yang did struggle a couple starts ago against this same Wiz team, that could help depress ownership.
Stacks
The previously mentioned Je-yeong Jo has the unenviable task of making his KBO debut against the NC Dinos, the only offense averaging over seven runs per game. Yeah, you're definitely going to want some Dinos in your lineups tonight.
Sung-Bum Na ($17) is getting up there in salary, but with tonight's lower-priced pitchers, you shouldn't have too much trouble fitting him in. Jin-Sung Kang ($12) continues to be a pleasant surprise for the Dinos, mashing seven home runs and owning the league's second-best ISO (.367) behind LG's Roberto Ramos. It's probably only a matter of time before Aaron Altherr ($13) moves up the order, but with eight home runs and four stolen bases already on the ledger, he should be on your list regardless of where he's hitting.
And speaking of Roberto Ramos ($17), the LG Twins could be a good spot against Geon-wook Lee. Lee was once a top prospect, but between injuries and military service, this will be just his eighth KBO appearance since he debuted in 2016. Although he performed well in his first start against the Doosan Bears, he fared much worse against the Dinos, giving up five earned runs in just three innings. Maybe there's still some talent in his arm, but Lee will have a tough time handling an LG Twins offense that's been among the league's best so far.
Ramos is practically a must as the league leader in dingers (12), while Hyun-Soo Kim ($14) is slashing a robust .368/.422/.538. The rest of the lineup is fairly inexpensive at $11 and below.
And while Hyeong-jun So may be the most expensive pitcher on the board, he sure doesn't look the part against the Kia Tigers. The 18-year-old isn't fooling anyone through five starts with that 8.0% strikeout rate, so we should feel pretty comfortable loading up on guys like Preston Tucker ($17), Hyung-Woo Choi ($11), and Ji-Wan Na ($9). Red-hot leadoff man Ho-Ryeong Kim ($8) is dealing with a minor thumb injury, so double-check that he's in the lineup, too.
The Samsung Lions are in a similar spot against 21-year-old Young-gun Jo, who is making just his third career start and has yet to share much in the way of punchouts. The Lions also benefit from the slate's most hitter-friendly venue. As has often been the case, every single one of their batters is priced in single-digits tonight, allowing you to load up with anyone you want in your other slots.