KBO Daily Fantasy Baseball Helper: Friday 7/10/20
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 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Drew Rucinski (NC) |
$29 | R | @LG | 3.84 | 2.30 | 1.11 | 22.7% | 7.0% | 5.43 | 15.9% | 959 |
| Won-tae Choi (Kiwoom) |
$27 | R | @KIA | 4.56 | 4.02 | 1.24 | 16.7% | 6.1% | 4.92 | 17.0% | 1003 |
| Chan-gyu Lim (LG) |
$26 | R | NC | 3.99 | 4.14 | 1.31 | 22.8% | 5.9% | 6.44 | 17.1% | 959 |
| Chris Flexen (Doosan) |
$25 | R | @LOT | 3.55 | 4.18 | 1.36 | 21.3% | 7.9% | 4.81 | 16.0% | 1022 |
| Hyun-jong Yang (Kia) |
$25 | L | KIW | 4.82 | 5.55 | 1.37 | 16.5% | 6.3% | 5.74 | 18.6% | 1003 |
| William Cuevas (KT) |
$25 | R | SAM | 4.62 | 5.06 | 1.23 | 17.2% | 5.9% | 5.26 | 18.1% | 973 |
| Min-woo Kim (Hanwha) |
$24 | R | SK | 5.15 | 4.83 | 1.41 | 23.9% | 9.3% | 3.70 | 19.2% | 978 |
| Jun-won Seo (Lotte) |
$24 | R | DOO | 5.80 | 3.95 | 1.32 | 11.7% | 6.5% | 6.20 | 14.7% | 1022 |
| Yoon-dong Heo (Samsung) |
$23 | L | @KT | 6.20 | 3.60 | 1.60 | 9.8% | 13.4% | 5.86 | 18.7% | 973 |
| Joo-han Kim (SK) |
$21 | R | @HAN | 6.27 | 7.20 | 1.87 | 4.0% | 9.5% | 3.52 | 19.3% | 978 |
Let's check out which pitchers and stacks stand out on tonight's slate
Pitchers
Unfortunately, this is one of those KBO slates with potential rain pretty much across the board, but forecasts do appear to be improving as the day goes. Chances are you'll want to be available close to first pitch, and as always, MyKBO Stats will help us keep tabs on the situation.
But assuming everything plays as normal, Chris Flexen ($25; Doosan Starting P) should be a fairly safe option against the Lotte Giants. The Giants don't offer up many free strikeouts, but they're a below-average offense as one of four teams scoring fewer than five runs per game. Flexen has a solid 21.3% strikeout rate and having one of the league's top offenses at your back can't hurt for earning a win.
Drew Rucinski ($29; NC Starting P) is probably the slate's top overall talent, but he costs $4 more than Flexen and also faces a team that doesn't strike out often. Given the opponent, you probably don't need to go out of your way to pay up, but he's worth getting exposure to if you have the extra cash. LG's pitcher-friendly venue is nice bonus, too.
For a riskier option with potential upside, Min-woo Kim ($24; Hanwha Starting P) owns a 4.83 ERA but has also put up a slate-best 23.9% strikeout rate. That should play against the SK Wyverns, whose bats have been nearly as poor as Hanwha's this year. In fact, the last place Eagles are actually the favorite on FanDuel Sportsbook.
Stacks
As is often the case, the Doosan Bears should be on your short list of stacks, facing a low-strikeout pitching in Jun-won Seo. Despite the sub-4.00 ERA, Seo has one of the worst FIPs on the board, and this could get ugly fast. Grab as many of Doosan's stars as you can, and Kyoung-Min Hur ($10) is a solid way to save if he's batting leadoff.
Similarly, the KT Wiz draw Yoon-dong Heo and his middling 9.8% strikeout rate. Much like Seo, Heo has a sizable gap between his ERA and FIP, with an especially ugly 13.4% walk rate. The Wiz could have a field day in this one. Yong-Ho Jo ($8) gives us another potential cheap leadoff man, and even lower order guys like Jeong-Dae Bae ($10) and Kyung-Soo Park ($8) have shown decent power.
The Kiwoom Heroes don't have quite the gimme matchup as the Bears and Wiz -- at least in terms of peripherals -- but it's still a very good one against Hyun-jong Yang. The southpaw has a respectable 16.5% strikeout rate, but it comes with an ERA well over 5.00, and he's been lit up in two of his past three starts. Byung-Ho Park ($14) may not be hitting for a high average, but he's tied for second in home runs (15) with a .272 ISO.
