KBO Daily Fantasy Baseball Helper: Thursday 7/9/20
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 Thursday 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 | SAM | 3.08 | 1.30 | 0.87 | 18.5% | 3.8% | 5.32 | 18.1% | 979 |
| Raul Alcantara (Doosan) | $28 | R | LG | 3.89 | 3.45 | 1.18 | 20.9% | 4.1% | 5.53 | 15.9% | 959 |
| Jung-hyun Baek (Samsung) | $26 | L | @KIW | 5.72 | 5.23 | 1.40 | 19.4% | 5.9% | 5.77 | 18.6% | 979 |
| Drew Gagnon (Kia) | $25 | R | KT | 2.94 | 3.77 | 1.22 | 23.4% | 7.0% | 5.89 | 18.7% | 1003 |
| Byung-wook Jo (KT) | $25 | R | @KIA | 4.39 | 4.08 | 1.30 | 5.6% | 4.2% | 4.83 | 17.0% | 1003 |
| Bum-soo Kim (Hanwha) | $24 | L | LOT | 5.49 | 3.60 | 1.60 | 20.1% | 15.7% | 4.81 | 16.0% | 978 |
| Tyler Wilson (LG) | $24 | R | @DOO | 4.05 | 4.47 | 1.37 | 17.1% | 7.5% | 6.20 | 14.7% | 959 |
| Adrian Sampson (Lotte) | $23 | R | @HAN | 4.64 | 6.06 | 1.68 | 14.6% | 5.5% | 3.53 | 19.3% | 978 |
| Ricardo Pinto (SK) | $22 | R | NC | 4.47 | 4.26 | 1.71 | 12.8% | 11.4% | 6.41 | 17.1% | 1038 |
| Sung-young Choi (NC) | $22 | L | @SK | 7.40 | 5.70 | 1.48 | 8.6% | 7.6% | 3.73 | 19.2% | 1038 |
Let's check out which pitchers and stacks stand out on tonight's slate
Pitchers
Between his slate-best 23.4% strikeout rate and reasonable salary, Drew Gagnon ($25; Kia Starting P) is arguably the best choice on the mound tonight. The KT Wiz might be a tougher opponent, but they also offer potential upside with a fairly high punchout rate.
Eric Jokisch ($30; Kiwoom Starting P) is awfully expensive but has to also be considered in a pitcher-friendly park against a middle-of-the-road opponent.
If you're feeling lucky, you could roll the dice with Adrian Sampson ($23; Lotte Starting P), who's been awful but draws a potential cure-all matchup versus Hanwha. Luck hasn't been on Sampson's side, as he's suffered from a .376 BABIP and 63.8% strand rate -- so there's hope -- and if ever there was a spot for a turnaround, it's here.
Stacks
It feels like a small miracle that Ricardo Pinto hasn't been rocked more often, with a lackluster 12.8% strikeout rate and 11.4% walk rate. Good luck to him against the NC Dinos, who lead the league in dingers by a wide margin. The Dinos are a deep enough lineup to feel pretty comfortable stacking just about any of their regulars. Min-woo Park ($12) was back in the leadoff spot on Wednesday after missing some time with a hamstring injury.
With an unsightly 15.7% walk rate and 5.49 FIP, Bum-soo Kim figures to see that 3.60 ERA go up sooner rather than later. The Lotte Giants will also benefit from facing Hanwha's poor bullpen (5.84 ERA). This is a fairly easy stack, too, with only Ah-Seop Son ($13) and Jun-Woo Jean ($12) priced above $10. Hoon Jung ($9) is cheap atop the order, and Dixon Machado ($10) continues to offer power/speed upside even when he's batting near the bottom.
The Kia Tigers may not be the most exciting offense, but they're up against Byung-wook Jo and his minuscule strikeout rate. If nothing else, throw Preston Tucker ($16) and his 13 home runs into some lineups.
Lastly, don't forget about the Kiwoom Heroes. The Lions' Jung-hyun Baek is allowing 2.09 home runs per 9 innings this season.
