Christopher Day 
KBO Matchups
- HAN @ LOT
- KIA @ KTW
- DOO @ NCD
- SK @ LG
- KIW @ SAM
Kings ofthe Hill
EricJokisch (L), KIW – $9,700 DK / $29 FD
The Kiwoon ace is by far my top target on tonight’s KBO slate. Jokisch comes into his start versus Samsung boasting a 5-0 record in 6 starts, 1.49 ERA, 2.35 FIP 0.94 WHIP, 21.4% strikeout rate, 6.3% walk rate and a 0.47 HR/9. Talk about dominance. The southpaw dominates all facets of statistical categories in the KBO and faces a Lions team batting .250 (rank: 8th) with 219 strikeouts on the season, good for third-most in the league. Jokisch has posted 21.6 DK points per game and the last time he faced Samsung, it only took him 83 pitches to go 6 innings with 3 hits allowed and 7 strikeouts en route to 29.7 DK points. Imagine if they let him top 95-100 pitches tonight? Sky’s the limit.
Min Ho Lee(R), LG – $5,800 DK / $23 FD
After being disappointed that I couldn’t write up Min Ho Lee yesterday as a GPP dart with Casey Kelly taking his place, here we are! Lee is by no means in the same caliber of pitching options at the top of the pricing range, but what he gives us is a cheap alternative for tournaments to prioritize bigger bats listed below. Lee has made two starts this season, combining for a 1-1 record, 12.1 innings pitched, 6 hits allowed and 9 strikeouts. His lowest pitch count in his two starts was 86, with the other being 100, so we know he doesn’t have a short leash – this is a good start for someone so cheap on DK. Yes, his two starts were against Samsung, so we cannot read too much into it, but Lee looked solid on the mound in those games and gets another favorable matchup in SK tonight. In his other two relief appearances, he didn’t give up a run to… the Doosan Bears. I’m confident Lee will be able to take care of business tonight and give us that edge in tournaments at low ownership.
GPP Options:Min Woo Kim (R), HAN
TheBatter’s Box
KiwoonHeroes
They’lllikely be chalk on tonight’s KBO slate, but it is great chalk. If people flockto the Doosan/NC game again, load up even more on Kiwoon. The Heroes draw THE mostfavorable matchup on the slate, facing Jung Hyun Baek on the mound for theSamsung Lions. Baek’s 2020 numbers in a nutshell: 0-3, 10.29 ERA, 7.87 FIP,3.86 HR/9. Yikes. Oh, and did I mention he’s a lefty? And that all of theKiwoon power bats are righties? Look out folks, this one could get real ugly,real fast.
Topoptions: Byung Ho Park (1B), Ha Seong Kim (SS), Dong Won Park (C), Keon ChangSeo (1B/2B), Jung Hoo Lee (OF), Byung Woo Jeon (2B/3B)
Kia Tigers
Another team with a favorable pitching matchup, the KIA Tigers might be lower owned than they should be after yesterday’s 12-8 NCD/DOO game and people consequently flocking to that series for their KBO DFS lineups. The opposing pitcher for the KT Wiz, Min Kim, has been, uh, quite volatile to say the least. Kim has had 3 decent outings versus LG, KIW, and Samsung, but got rocked in his other two starts versus Doosan. Is Doosan his kryptonite and we’re actually dealing with a mediocre pitcher here in the KBO? My lean is to say no and that he is exploitable. His numbers in a nutshell: 2-2, 7.83 ERA, 7.11 FIP, 1.83 WHIP, 1.57 HR/9, and a ridiculous 14.2% walk rate. His command is brutal which forces him to throw pitches down the middle of the plate after being consistently down in the count, which gets him into serious trouble. The x-factor for me here is if leadoff hitter Ho Ryung Kim (OF) plays; in addition to shortstop Sun Bin Kim who left yesterday’s game with a hamstring injury. If Ho Ryung Kim plays, I like a 1-4 KIA stack, but if not, I’ll probably settle for the three-headed monster in the outfield and lower my exposure in favor of the honorable mention stacks.
TopOptions: Preston Tucker (OF), Ho Ryung Kim (OF), Ji Wan Na (OF), Hyung Woo Choi(OF/1B)
ComplementaryOptions: Sun Bin Kim (SS)
HonorableMentions: NC Dinos, Doosan Bears
A QuickNote on the Doosan Bears
While theBears do draw a tough matchup versus Drew Rucinski on the mound for the NC Dinos,I’m not ruling out being heavyweight on them versus the field should they comein at lower ownership. If the matchup scares people away, so be it. But untilRucinski faces a real offense, I’m not sold on his body of work in the KBO.Ruckisnki’s statistics thus far are impressive: 4-0, 2.11 ERA, 3.06 FIP, 0.47HR/9, 24.1% strikeout rate while only walking 6.3% of batters. However, theteams he has faced have been SAM, SK, and HAN. Against the one credible offensehe has faced, KT, who are by no means as elite as the likes of NCD/DOO/KIW, hegot rocked for 5 earned runs on 10 hits and 2 homeruns. Again, am Idiscrediting what he has done thus far? Absolutely not. But will I beoverweight on DOO if the field is not? Absolutely.
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