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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eric Jokisch (Kiwoom) | $30 | L | @KT | 3.13 | 1.42 | 0.85 | 18.6% | 4.1% | 5.80 | 18.9% | 973 |
| Raul Alcantara (Doosan) | $28 | R | HAN | 4.13 | 3.69 | 1.25 | 19.5% | 4.1% | 3.48 | 19.6% | 959 |
| Bum-soo Kim (Hanwha) | $27 | L | @DOO | 5.71 | 4.34 | 1.66 | 20.9% | 15.7% | 6.32 | 15.0% | 959 |
| Odrisamer Despaigne (KT) | $26 | R | KIW | 4.27 | 4.64 | 1.35 | 17.4% | 6.4% | 5.82 | 19.2% | 973 |
| Drew Gagnon (Kia) | $25 | R | @NC | 2.91 | 3.88 | 1.22 | 23.8% | 6.9% | 6.55 | 17.4% | 1012 |
| Tyler Wilson (LG) | $25 | R | @SAM | 4.25 | 4.47 | 1.32 | 16.7% | 8.1% | 5.10 | 17.8% | 1093 |
| Adrian Sampson (Lotte) | $24 | R | SK | 4.00 | 6.16 | 1.66 | 16.6% | 6.5% | 3.62 | 19.1% | 1022 |
| Jung-hyun Baek (Samsung) | $22 | L | LG | 5.18 | 4.50 | 1.39 | 18.3% | 6.1% | 5.40 | 16.2% | 1093 |
| Sung-young Choi (NC) | $21 | L | KIA | 7.48 | 5.94 | 1.74 | 9.0% | 9.0% | 4.87 | 17.2% | 1012 |
| Ricardo Pinto (SK) | $20 | R | @LOT | 4.33 | 4.02 | 1.66 | 13.4% | 10.7% | 4.71 | 16.3% | 1022 |
Let's check out which pitchers and stacks stand out on tonight's slate
Pitchers
Rain could be a factor on Friday, as both the Tigers-Dinos and Wyverns-Giants have showers in the forecast. As of this writing, MyKBO Stats states that both games are potential washouts, so be sure to keep tabs on things as we get closer to first pitch.
Assuming his game plays, Drew Gagnon ($25; Kia Starting P) is the top talent on the board, but he's sadly taking on the always vicious NC Dinos, rendering him more of a contrarian play in tournaments. The upside could be there, but as we saw with Dan Straily on Thursday, it's just a tough, tough matchup to overcome.
That leaves Raul Alcantara ($28; Doosan Starting P) as the likely chalk against the Hanwha Eagles, who are pretty much the anti-Dinos. Alcantara has a solid enough 19.5% strikeout rate to post a nice score against the KBO's worst squad, and his pitcher-friendly home ballpark won't hurt, too.
Odrisamer Despaigne ($26; KT Starting P) falls under consideration as a slightly cheaper pivot. Although Despaigne has been going through a mediocre stretch, his FIP and strikeout rate remain respectable. He's risky against Kiwoom, but they're a plus matchup for punchouts, and this is another run-suppressing park. Eric Jokisch ($30; Kiwoom Starting P) is in a similar spot on the other side, but his salary is tough to stomach.
Stacks
The Doosan Bears are up against a lefty, which typically isn't ideal as a lefty-heavy lineup, but Bum-soo Kim and the Eagles aren't a matchup to shy away from. Kim has posted a double-digit walk rate throughout his KBO career and owns a wretched 6.14 ERA and 1.79 WHIP over 231.2 career innings. If that wasn't enough, Hanwha also has the third-worst bullpen ERA in the league (5.98). Fit in the stars where you can, and guys like Kyoung-Min Hur ($8) and Jae-Won Oh ($7) are decent punts to help get you there.
The NC Dinos may be atop the KBO standings, but they actually have the league's worst bullpen ERA (6.53) and are rolling out a subpar starter in lefty Sung-young Choi against the Kia Tigers tonight. Choi has struggled over 16.2 innings, and while he performed decently in 2019, he still owned a poor 13.3% walk rate. Due to that shoddy bullpen, we shouldn't hesitate to utilize the lefty sticks of Preston Tucker ($17) and Hyung-Woo Choi ($13). Sun Bin Kim ($8) has been hitting leadoff the past couple games as a possible value play.
Ricardo Pinto has kept his ERA fairly low, but one has to wonder how long that lasts off a 13.4% strikeout rate and 10.7% walk rate. He's only allowed one home run all season, and that could very well be more due to luck than skill. Perhaps the Lotte Giants are the team to give him his comeuppance. No Giants player is priced above $13, and power/speed combo Dixon Machado ($10) still looks like a solid tournament play even if he's batting ninth again.
Lastly, the SK Wyverns deserve a quick mention against Adrian Sampson, who has been lit up several times this season. As one of the league's weaker overall offenses, the Wyverns might not be worth a full stack, but you could consider one-offs of sluggers like Jeong Choi ($15) or Jamie Romak ($13).