MLB finally has a timeline for its return at the end of July (yay!), so that means MLB DFS is on the horizon.
But you don't have to wait until then to get your daily fantasy baseball fix! The KBO rolls on with daily contests on FanDuel.
First pitch on Friday 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Warwick Saupold (Hanwha) | $28 | R | KT | 3.60 | 3.39 | 1.37 | 13.8% | 4.0% | 5.75 | 18.5% | 978 |
| Drew Ganon (Kia) | $27 | R | @KIW | 2.77 | 3.94 | 1.14 | 25.8% | 6.8% | 5.82 | 19.1% | 979 |
| Jong-gi Park (Doosan) | $26 | R | NC | 3.86 | 2.53 | 0.84 | 20.5% | 5.1% | 6.53 | 17.6% | 959 |
| Tae-in Won (Samsung) | $26 | R | @LOT | 5.00 | 3.19 | 1.40 | 14.5% | 9.2% | 4.64 | 16.3% | 1022 |
| Casey Kelly (LG) | $25 | R | @SK | 4.11 | 5.00 | 1.38 | 18.3% | 6.3% | 3.86 | 19.6% | 1038 |
| Hyeong-jun So (KT) | $24 | R | @HAN | 5.43 | 6.02 | 1.45 | 10.5% | 6.3% | 3.49 | 20.2% | 978 |
| Jae-hak Lee (NC) | $24 | R | @DOO | 4.40 | 5.58 | 1.39 | 15.6% | 7.5% | 6.32 | 15.2% | 959 |
| Dan Straily (Lotte) | $24 | R | SAM | 2.74 | 2.10 | 1.01 | 28.4% | 7.8% | 5.07 | 17.8% | 1022 |
| Geon-wook Lee (SK) | $22 | R | LG | 4.95 | 3.42 | 1.37 | 17.0% | 13.4% | 5.70 | 16.2% | 1038 |
| Young-gun Jo (Kiwoom) | $21 | R | KIA | 6.12 | 4.70 | 1.89 | 9.7% | 12.5% | 5.00 | 16.9% | 979 |
Let's check out which pitchers and stacks stand out on tonight's slate
Pitchers
Third time's the charm?
Dan Straily (Lotte Starting P; $24) had his start rained out for the second straight day, so he moves along to Friday's slate and is once again underpriced. His numbers speak for themselves, and a change in matchup to the Samsung Lions isn't anything to worry about. The Lions are a mediocre offense, to begin with, and are also expected to be missing Tyler Saladino again due to injury. Straily is once again the top option and clear skies will finally allow him to get out there.
Drew Gagnon (Kia Starting P; $27) is the most likely candidate to keep up with Straily, but brings along more risk against the Kiwoom Heroes. The matchup makes him more of a boom-or-bust play, but his 25.8% strikeout rate combined with Kiwoom's 19.1% rate could lead to a mighty loud boom.
Casey Kelly (LG Starting P; $25) doesn't quite have the firepower of those two, but he draws a plus matchup versus the SK Wyverns, the league's second-worst offense. Kelly's FIP suggests his ERA should improve, and he produced an excellent 2.55 ERA and 1.14 WHIP in the KBO last year. He isn't as likely to post a huge score like Straily or Gagnon, but he's a safe bet for a solid outing.
Stacks
You could say Geon-wook Lee has been effectively wild considering his 3.42 ERA has come with a 17.0% strikeout rate and 13.4% walk rate -- except he also owns a .253 BABIP and 4.95 FIP. It sure looks like Lee has been getting a little lucky with all those free passes, and he also tends to get pulled after five innings (or earlier), meaning the LG Twins should get plenty of hacks against middle relief pitching, too. Leadoff man Chun-Woong Lee ($9) remains affordable, and Kang-Nam Yoo ($10) and Ji-Hwan Oh ($9) can also help you fit in star slugger Roberto Ramos ($17).
The Kia Tigers are a mediocre offense overall, but they've got some killer lefty bats in Preston Tucker ($17) and Hyung-Woo Choi ($11), who can take advantage of arguably the night's weakest starter in Young-gun Jo. The 21-year-old right-hander has more walks than punchouts, with an ugly 9.3% strikeout rate over four starts (five appearances). Ho-Ryeong Kim ($10) and Ji-Wan Na ($9) are welcome additions to a stack, and Sun-Bin Kim ($8) could be back batting second after missing some time.
The Lotte Giants are another modest lineup, but they too are on the table against Tae-in Won. The righty has an uninspiring 14.5% strikeout rate paired with a 9.2% walk rate, and his lackluster FIP is probably a better indication of how he's performed. You can feel pretty good about anyone in the expected top five in the order, particularly now that Dixon Machado ($10) has moved up.
Lastly, you'll probably want some exposure to both sides of tonight's battle of elites between the NC Dinos and Doosan Bears. Jae-hak Lee has struggled over eight starts for the Dinos, while Jong-gi Park is making just his third career start.