baseball

KBO Matchups

• HAN @ KIA
• KT @ LG
• LOT @ NCD
• DOO @ KIW
• SK @ SAM

Kings of the Hill

Ki Young Im (R), KIA – $7,800 DK / $28 FD

There are some great pitching options on today’s KBO slate and ownership should be fairly spread out in GPPs outside of this pick here, but all of my lineups, especially cash builds, will start with Ki Young Im. The KIA pitcher has been stellar all season long, going 4-3 with a 2.91 ERA, 3.13 FIP, 1.15 WHIP, 22.2% strikeout rate, 4% walk rate, and a league-leading 12% hard hit rate, tied with teammate Aaron Brooks and just ahead of another great option listed below. What’s not to love about Im here? His price on DK is below 8k, which is absurd, he has a great matchup versus Hanwha, he sits over 20% in strikeout rate and doesn’t sacrifice command to do so, and he has yet to give up a home run all season. He’s a lock on both sites for me.

Mike Wright (R), NCD – $9,500 DK / $28 FD

Another star pitcher on the KBO slate, Mike Wright is a tad expensive for my liking over on DK, but his floor is what we’re looking at here. He’s sitting at 6-2 on the season, pitching for the best team in the league, with a 3.60 ERA, 4.85 FIP, 1.34 WHIP, and a 19.3% strikeout rate. Like I mentioned above and have been preaching in Discord over the past few weeks, Wright limits hard contact as good as anyone in this league at 14% and has a safe floor; Wright has yet to go under 10 DK points in any game other than getting torched by KIA two starts ago and is a safe bet to throw 90-100 pitches on any given night. In a great matchup versus Lotte, his ceiling worries me for the price, but his floor is undeniable and makes for a great target.

GPP Options: Jong HoonPark (R), SK, Min Ho Lee (R), LG

The Batter’s Box

Kiwoon Heroes

One of the deepest lineups in the KBO, the Kiwoon Heroes have a great matchup versus Hui Kwan Yu in their home dome. While Yu is sitting at 5-1 on the season, he’s often bailed out by his potent offense and has been exploited on multiple occasions; he has a 4.66 ERA and a 5.45 FIP to go along with a league-worst 7.6% strikeout rate. With the southpaw having to deal with right-handed power bats such as Byung Ho Park and Ha Seong Kim, Kiwoon could put up a ton of runs in a shootout at home.

Top Options: Byung Ho Park (1B), Ha Seong Kim (SS), JungHoo Lee (OF), Dong Won Park (C), Keon Chang Seo (1B/2B), Hye Sung Kim (2B/SS)

Doosan Bears

While they face a southpaw on the mound and boast a heavy split where all of their best bats are left-handed, I’m not worried about the Bears’ ability to put up runs tonight. For one, they are much better on the road, in addition to seeing a great matchup. Seung Ho Lee gets the challenge of trying to tame this offense but his 4.89 ERA, 4.98 FIP, 1.48 WHIP, and strikeout/walk splits indicate otherwise. I love the game stack here.

Top Options: Jose Fernandez (1B/2B), Jae Hwan Kim (OF/1B),Kun Woo Park (OF), Joo Hwan Choi (1B/2B), Jae Il Oh (1B), Kyoung Min Hur (3B)

Honorable Mention: LG Twins

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KBO Matchups

• KIA @ KIW
• KT @ HAN
• LG @ SK
• NCD @ DOO
• SAM @ LOT

Kings of the Hill

Chan Gyu Lim (R), LG – $8,200 DK / $26 FD

With the KBO pitching options being as loaded as theyare, I’m hoping to get Chan Gyu Lim of the LG Twins at lower ownership thanwhat he is projected for at the time of writing. While his teammate Chan HeonJung was featured in yesterday’s article and threw a complete game shutout, Limmight have even more upside tonight. While he’s 3-2 on the season with a 4.69ERA, 4.18 FIP, and a 1.39 WHIP, his 23.2% strikeout rate gives him as muchupside as anyone on the slate. He’s surpassed over 100 pitches in 3 consecutivestarts, showing that he has more than enough durability to go deep into games,and has struck out 5-8 batters in 6 of 7 starts. He’s $1,000 more expensivethan his teammate was yesterday, but makes up for it with more talent and histremendous strikeout ability.

Odrisamer Despaigne (R), KT – $8,100 DK / $26 FD

I really wish there was any other starter getting the nod versus Hanwha, but here we are, talking about Odrisamer Despaigne. Make no mistake, his MLB career was disastrous, but he has flashed at least some upside here in the KBO. He’s been torched by the likes of Doosan and has had inconsistent performances versus basement dwellers Lotte and Samsung, but I’m taking a shot on Despaigne tonight with the more expensive options garnering more ownership at the moment. Overall, Despaigne sits at 3-4 on the season with a 4.50 ERA, 4.22 FIP, 1.35 WHIP, and a decent 17.2% strikeout rate, but it’s the matchup I’m more interested in; Hanwha’s lineup has been awful all season long and I don’t see any sudden change here tonight.

GPP Options: AaronBrooks (R), KIA

The Batter’s Box

KT Wiz

While they stormed out for 7 runs on 6 hits and 2 homeruns yesterday, KT has an even better matchup on tonight’s KBO slate versusChad Bell. The Hanwha southpaw continues to struggle this season, with hisrecord now down to 0-4 with a 7.67 ERA, 6.16 FIP, 1.93 WHIP, an 11.3% walk rateand a 1.33 HR/9. With the power bats that KT boasts, led by Baek Ho Kang andMel Rojas Jr., they have the potential to put up double digits tonight; Rojasand Kang lead the KBO in ISO with .351 and .336 rates, respectively, and couldbe in for a big night.

Top Options: Baek Ho Kang (1B/OF), Mel Rojas Jr. (OF),Jeong Dae Bae (OF)

Complementary Options: Kyung Soo Park (2B), Jae GyunHwang (3B), Sung Woo Jang (C), Min Hyeok Kim (2B/OF)

LG Twins

While the Twins didn’t explode the way I thought they would when writing them up yesterday, they did exactly what was described: put up runs on Ricardo Pinto without getting a home run. That’s exactly what I love about the Twins; they have the ability to score without necessarily getting contributions in the home run department, as was proven yesterday by scoring 3 runs on 11 hits. With SK throwing Joo Han Kim on the mound, who has one start this season and is 0-2 with a 10.80 ERA, 6.81 FIP, and a 2.60 WHIP, albeit the small sample size, I’m going back to well with the Twins.

Top Options: Roberto Ramos (1B), Hyun Soo Kim (OF), JiHwan Oh (SS), Kang Nam Yoo (C), Chun Woong Lee (OF)

Honorable Mention: Samsung Lions, Doosan Bears

You can find me in the WinDaily Discord chat and on Twitter @DFS_Ghost!

KBO Matchups

• KIA @ KIW
• KT @ HAN
• LG @ SK
• NCD @ DOO
• SAM @ LOT

Kings of the Hill

Eric Jokisch (L), KIW – $9,400 DK / $28 FD

Everyone should be used to it by now; Eric Jokisch is on the KBO slate, so he’s featured here and is an elite target in almost every matchup that he has. The Kiwoon southpaw is now 6-2 on the season with a 1.63 ERA, 3.20 FIP, 0.94 WHIP, and an 18.5% strikeout rate while having a low 4.2% walk rate. While KIA boasts a decent 1-5 batting order, as they were recommended here yesterday in The Batter’s Box and came through with 8 runs on 12 hits, Jokisch is not Young Gun Jo and presents quite the uphill battle for the Tigers. In a matchup in their home dome, Jokisch can be the highest scoring pitcher on the slate and makes for a great cash game option and GPP pay up.

William Cuevas (R), KT – $8,000 DK / $27 FD

After missing 3 weeks with a hip injury, I must admitthat I was a bit skeptical about how William Cuevas would look in his firststart back. While he wasn’t in the toughest of matchups versus Lotte, Cuevasreally impressed, needing only 85 pitches to go 7 strong innings, allowing 5hits and no earned runs while striking out 5 en route to 26.8 DK points. Whilehis 5.05 ERA and 5.26 FIP are certainly nothing to be impressed by, his matchupversus Hanwha gives up a huge boost; be aware of the ownership percentage hereand potentially consider turning to one of the options below to pair withJokisch in large field tournaments.

GPP Options: Chan Heon Jung (R), LG, Jung Hyun Baek (L), SAM

The Batter’s Box

KT Wiz

I love being able to write about the KT Wiz, as Ithink they’re one of the most entertaining teams in the KBO behind theirstar-studded duo of Baek Ho Kang and Mel Rojas Jr. You want a GPP play with thehighest ceiling possible to get to the top of the leaderboard? Look no furtherthan the Wiz tonight. Facing Min Woo Kim of the Hanwha Eagles, I’m expectingthe Wiz to not only put up a ton of runs, but hit a few homers along the way; notonly is Kim’s ERA ridiculously high at 5.36, his FIP is no better, sitting at aleague-worst 5.69. The best part? His HR/9 is also the worst in the KBO,sitting at… 2.01. Lock and load the Wiz tonight and enjoy the ride.

Top options: Baek Ho Kang (1B/OF), Mel Rojas Jr. (OF),Jeong Dae Bae (OF), Min Hyeok Kim (2B/OF)

Complementary Options: Sung Woo Jang (C), Woo Jun Sim(SS), Jae Gyun Hwang (3B)

LG Twins

While they disappointed on yesterday’s KBO slate after being in such a prime matchup, I have no fear that the Twins will bounce back here against Ricardo Pinto and the SK Wyverns. After failing to take advantage of Geon Wook Lee yesterday, the Twins see Pinto on the mound who has struggled mightily in his last two starts, going 0-1 while giving up 7 earned runs on 11 hits and 8 walks. That last point is the key to the Twins’ success here tonight: plate discipline. Pinto has struggled to find the heart of the plate all season long, boasting an 11.3% walk rate to go along with his 4.26 ERA and 4.51 FIP. He doesn’t strike out many batters (12.9% strikeout rate), but he does have the ability to keep the ball in the park (0.18 HR/9). While the Twins may not hit a ton of homers off of Pinto, we’ve seen them eclipse double digit runs without one and I’m willing to take another shot at them at lower ownership since people may be wary after yesterday’s dud.

Top Options: Roberto Ramos (1B), Hyun Soo Kim (OF), JiHwan Oh (SS), Kang Nam Yoo (C), Chun Woong Lee (OF)

Honorable Mentions: Kiwoon Heroes

You can find me in the WinDaily Discord chat and on Twitter @DFS_Ghost!

KBO Matchups

• KIA @ KIW
• KT @ HAN
• LG @ SK
• NCD @ DOO
• SAM @ LOT

Kings of the Hill

Dan Straily (R), LOT – $9,500 DK / $23 FD

For the second day in a row, Straily’s start gotrained out and he’s now back on today’s KBO slate at the same price on DK, but heis still too cheap on FD at $24. He remains the cash core play of the slate, whilereceiving a huge bump on FD because of the price reduction and the matchupversus Samsung. Here’s what I wrote for the past two days:

The obvious chalk on the KBO slate, Dan Straily is thebest of a bad bunch available for us tonight. While his ownership number scaresme for large field tournaments, he does have some impressive figures on theseason; he’s 1-2 with a 2.10 ERA, 2.75 FIP, 1.01 WHIP, and a stellar 28.4%strikeout rate. He did get rocked versus KIA last time they faced one another,but that was over a month ago and Straily has been lights out ever since. Hisprice tag has drastically caught up to him on DK and he’s the secondhighest-priced pitcher on FD, but there’s no denying that he has the most upsideon the slate.

Casey Kelly (R), LG – $9,000 DK / $25 FD

Casey Kelly is another elite option available to us on tonight’s KBO slate and has a great matchup. The LG ace is now 3-2 on the season with a 5.00 ERA, 4.11 FIP, 1.38 WHIP, and an 18.3% strikeout rate. While both his ERA and FIP are higher than I’d like for them to be, he has proven to be one of the best arms in the league when he’s on his game. Whether we get that performance tonight remains to be seen, and is he by no means a safe option at such a high price tag, but with SK struggling to put up any runs or even get on base, I like Kelly for tournament play as opposed to a chalky Drew Gagnon versus Kiwoon.

GPP Options: Tae In Won(R), SAM, Drew Gagnon (R), KIA,

The Batter’s Box

LG Twins

The Twins are one of my top targets on tonight’s KBOslate despite not being the most popular in the field at the time of writing.Before you jump the gun on the NCD versus DOO game, which, yes, can result in ashootout, LG warrants consideration at lower ownership. The main reason whythey caught my eye is because they’re facing Geon Wook Lee; while he’s arespectable 1-1 on the season with a 3.42 ERA, 4.95 FIP, 1.37 WHIP, and 17%strikeout rate, he hasn’t been able to go more than 5 innings because of his ridiculous13.4% walk rate. After SK used 4 different relievers yesterday in a combined 6innings of work in their loss to Doosan, their bullpen will be depleted andexhausted; if the Twins get to Lee early and often, they could be in for a bignight at lower ownership than other teams on the KBO slate.

Top Options: Roberto Ramos (1B), Hyun Soo Kim (OF), JiHwan Oh (SS), Kang Nam Yoo (C), Chun Woong Lee (OF)

KIA Tigers

While both the Doosan Bears and NC Dinos are viable ontonight’s KBO slate in a game that could turn to a shootout with two badpitchers on the mound for their respective teams, I’m turning to the KIA Tigershere versus Young Gun Jo and the Kiwoon Heroes. The Tigers can easily get to apitcher that has been awful this season: Jo is 1-0 with a 4.70 ERA, 6.12 FIP,1.89 WHIP, and a 12.3% walk rate. His only decent outing has been versus Hanwha,to no surprise, while being torched by KT, SAM, NCD, and SK; in each of those 4starts, he gave up 2 walks and never made it out of the third inning, to go alongwith a combined 7 earned runs on 16 hits – not too good for only 8 1/3 inningsof work. The Tigers will not only see a favorable matchup versus Jo, butbecause of it, they’ll see more of the Kiwoon bullpen – KIA explodes tonight,don’t miss out.

Top Options: Preston Tucker (OF), Hyung Woo Choi(1B/OF), Ho Ryung Kim (OF), Ji Wan Na (OF), Sun Bin Kim (SS), Min Sang Yoo (1B)

Honorable Mention: Doosan Bears, NC Dinos

You can find me in the WinDaily Discord chat and on Twitter @DFS_Ghost!

KBO Matchups

• KIA @ LOT
• NCD @ KTW
• DOO @ SK
• KIW @ LG

KBO Slate Notes

After yesterday’s KBO slate got completely rained out with the exception of the Samsung versus Hanwha game, a lot of the plays listed from yesterday carry over. If something changes, I’ll note it in the paragraph below the player/team I wrote about yesterday. Lock is at 2am EST so make sure you reserve contests earlier than usual.

Kings of the Hill

Dan Straily (R), LOT – $9,500 DK / $23 FD

As noted above, Straily’s start got rained out yesterday and he’s now back on today’s KBO slate with a slight $300 price increase on DK, but he sees a drastic $5 reduction on FD. He remains the cash core play of the KBO slate, while receiving a huge bump on FD for tournaments as well. Here is yesterday’s take:

The obvious chalk on the KBO slate, Dan Straily is thebest of a bad bunch available for us tonight. While his ownership number scaresme for large field tournaments, he does have some impressive figures on theseason; he’s 1-2 with a 2.10 ERA, 2.75 FIP, 1.01 WHIP, and a stellar 28.4%strikeout rate. He did get rocked versus KIA last time they faced one another,but that was over a month ago and Straily has been lights out ever since. Hisprice tag has drastically caught up to him on DK and he’s the secondhighest-priced pitcher on FD, but there’s no denying that he has the most upsideon the slate.

Min Woo Lee (R), KIA – $7,300 DK / $26 FD

Another pitcher who saw his start get rained out, Leeremains my favorite SP2 option on the slate, especially since my GPP play, YoonDong Heo, is no longer on the slate. We get him at a $700 price reduction comparedto yesterday on DK, so it balances out the premium we now need to pay for Straily.Here’s yesterday’s take:

Is Min Woo Lee an elite arm in the KBO? No disrespectto him, but no, he is not. Is he arguably the most viable option after Straily?I’m inclined to say yes. For those that pick their lineups based on game logsalone, which I highly recommend against, obviously, you’ll see that he was litup 3 consecutive starts in a row. But take a look at the teams he’s faced inthat span… NCD, KT, and DOO. Can’t really blame the guy, can you? Before that,Lee and his 3-0 record were doing just fine, and I think he gets back on trackhere tonight. While I don’t usually recommend playing two pitchers from thesame game, the options tonight are worrisome, to say the least. Lee still has adecent 15.4% strikeout rate in his first full season starting, but he wassitting at 18.4% before these past three starts, and I think he could reallytake advantage of a mediocre Lotte lineup.

GPP Options: Hui Kwan Yu(L), DOO

FD-Only Play: David Buchanan (R), SAM

The Batter’s Box

NC Dinos

While the NC Dinos don’t get the gift of a matchup that Min Soo Kim is, they face Je Seong Bae on the mound tonight and could be in a for big night, nonetheless. Bae is quietly having a very good season with a 3-1 record and is a positive component of the KT pitching staff, but he could be in tough tonight. He’s allowed at least 3 hits in every game and most recently got torched by the Lotte Giants for 8 earned runs on 9 hits in only 3 innings. Last time he faced the Dinos, he allowed 7 hits but still went 7 strong innings, striking out 7 and allowing 0 runs. While the Dinos left a ton of men on base that game, they won’t make the same mistake here and are a prime stack on tonight’s KBO slate.

Top options: Sung Bum Na (OF), Eui Ji Yang (C), Jin Sung Kang (1B/OF), Aaron Altherr (OF), Jin Hyuk No (2B/SS), Suk Min Park (3B), Myung Gi Lee (OF)

Doosan Bears

The Bears take the place of the Samsung Lions in this spot since the latter is not on the DK KBO slate, although they are on the FD KBO slate and make for great targets over there and continue to be priced down. The Bears are getting star slugger Jae Il Oh back in the lineup tonight and have their potent 1-6 order in place facing Jong Hoon Park of the SK Wyverns. While Park has been no slouch this season, posting a 3-2 record with a 4th-ranked 25.3% strikeout rate, Doosan boasts one of, if not the best offense in the KBO and sees a notable uptick in production on the road. Joo Hwan Choi ($2,600) continues to be disrespected on DK with his price tag, but you’ll have to choose two of Choi, Oh, and Fernandez if stacking the Bears.

Top Options: Jose Fernandez (1B/2B), Jae Il Oh (1B),Joo Hwan Choi (1B/2B), Jae Hwan Kim (OF/1B), Kun Woo Park (OF), Jae Ho Kim (SS)

Honorable Mention: LG Twins

You can find me in the WinDaily Discord chat and on Twitter @DFS_Ghost!

KBO Matchups

• HAN @ SAM
• KIA @ LOT
• NCD @ KT
• DOO @ SK
• KIW @ LG

Kings of the Hill

Dan Staily (R), LOT – $9,200 DK / $28 FD

The obvious chalk on the KBO slate, Dan Straily is the best of a bad bunch available for us tonight. While his ownership number scares me for large field tournaments, he does have some impressive figures on the season; he’s 1-2 with a 2.10 ERA, 2.75 FIP, 1.01 WHIP, and a stellar 28.4% strikeout rate. He did get rocked versus KIA last time they faced one another, but that was over a month ago and Straily has been lights out ever since. His price tag has drastically caught up to him on DK and he’s the second highest-priced pitcher on FD, but there’s no denying that he has the most upside on the slate.

Min Woo Lee (R), KIA – $8,000 DK / $23 FD

Is Min Woo Lee an elite arm in the KBO? No disrespectto him, but no, he is not. Is he arguably the most viable option after Straily?I’m inclined to say yes. For those that pick their lineups based on game logsalone, which I highly recommend against, obviously, you’ll see that he was litup 3 consecutive starts in a row. But take a look at the teams he’s faced inthat span… NCD, KT, and DOO. Can’t really blame the guy, can you? Before that, Leeand his 3-0 record were doing just fine, and I think he gets back on track heretonight. While I don’t usually recommend playing two pitchers from the samegame, the options tonight are worrisome, to say the least. Lee still has adecent 15.4% strikeout rate in his first full season starting, but he wassitting at 18.4% before these past three starts, and I think he could reallytake advantage of a mediocre Lotte lineup.

GPP Options: Yoon Dong Heo (L), SAM

The Batter’s Box

NC Dinos

While they didn’t put up the monstrous run total I expected them to yesterday, the Dinos are not facing Odrisamer Despaigne tonight. Rather, they’ll be seeing Min Soo Kim and a ton of the worst bullpen in the KBO. Kim has struggled mightily thus far, posting a 1-2 record with a 7.97 ERA, 4.83 FIP, 2.02 WHIP, and has been prone to the longball with a 1.33 HR/9. Star catcher Eui Ji Yang was back in the lineup yesterday and provided the pop that the Dinos needed, going 2-for-3 with a HR, a double and 2 RBIs and is another crucial piece to the Dinos stack tonight.

Top options: Sung Bum Na (OF), Eui Ji Yang (C), JinSung Kang (1B/OF), Aaron Altherr (OF), Myung Gi Lee (OF), Ji Hyuk No (2B/SS)

Samsung Lions

While a lot of ownership went toward the KiwoonHeroes, who did fair well themselves, we turned to the Samsung Lions foryesterday’s secondary stack and they came through, posting the highest runtotal of all KBO teams with 11 runs on 11 hits. Tonight, they’re in anothergreat spot versus Shi Hwan Jang who has just been terrible this season, postinga 1-4 record with a 6.89 ERA, 5.80 FIP, 2.11 WHIP, 13.9% walk rate and 1.38 HR/9.I had a feeling they’d put up a big run total yesterday and they did, and tonightmight just be even better than yesterday.

Top Options: Tyler Saladino (3B/OF), Ja Wook Koo(1B/OF), Won Seok Lee (3B), Hak Ju Lee (SS), Sang Su Kim (2B/3B), Young JinChoi (1B/3B)

Honorable Mention: LG Twins

You can find me in the WinDaily Discord chat and on Twitter @DFS_Ghost!

KBO Matchups

• HAN @ SAM
• KIA @ LOT
• NCD @ KTW
• DOO @ SK
• KIW @ LG

Kings ofthe Hill

ChrisFlexen (R), DOO – $8,500 DK / $27 FD

While Flexen hasn’t had the prettiest of seasons thus far, he is an elite option on today’s KBO slate with a matchup versus the SK Wyverns. Flexen got off to a hot start with dominating performances in his first three starts versus LG, LOT, and NCD, respectively, but has since cooled off; tonight could be a prime spot for him to get back on track. He’s now 2-1 on the season in 7 starts, posting a 3.29 ERA, 3.77 FIP, 1.22 WHIP, and has a 20.6% strikeout rate. Once highly regarded to be a potent offense in the offseason, led by Jeong Choi and Jamie Romak, SK just hasn’t found their pop in the batter’s box this season; they have the second-lowest batting average in the KBO ahead of only Hanwha at .236, have the second-lowest amount of hits ahead of, once again, Hanwha with 323 (Hanwha has 322), and have the second-lowest amount of runs scored with 155 ahead of – you guessed it – Hanwha. As much as we pick on the Eagles, it’s about time to start attacking this SK offense if you haven’t been already, and I like Flexen to take advantage of them tonight.

AaronBrooks (R), KIA – $8,400 DK / $25 FD

Another mid-tier priced option on DK, Aaron Brooks falls into the SP2 category for me over guys like Drew Rucinski and Won-Tae Choi. Not only is it a matchup preference, but has been the definition of consistency thus far and that’s not a bad thing when it comes to selecting pitchers in KBO DFS; he has scored no less than 11.4 DK points and has flashed upside on multiple occasions where he’s scored 17.5 or more points in 6 of 8 starts. Brooks is now 3-2 on the season with a 3.00 ERA, 3.01 FIP, 1.19 WHIP, and a 21.9% strikeout rate. Facing the Lotte Giants, who he beat last time out while throwing 104 pitches in 6 2/3 innings, striking out 5, and only allowing 2 earned runs on 7 hits, I like Brooks’ chances of being the top pitcher on the entire KBO slate.

GPP Options:Chae HeungChoi (L), SAM

TheBatter’s Box

NC Dinos

The Dinos hit the road to face the KT Wiz and are in a prime spot to put up a ton of runs. While Odrisamer Despaigne has been a fairly decent KBO DFS pitcher at times, he has also blown up lineups with disastrous performances, and tonight, I think we see the latter. The key for NC here is to get to Despaigne early and often; KT has the worst bullpen in the league and allow a ton of runs after their starters get pulled, and I think NC’s power will be too much for both Despaigne and the KT bullpen. It also helps that the Dinos will be getting their star catcher and one of the KBO’s best hitters, Eui Ji Yang, back in the lineup tonight after missing nearly a week due to illness.

Top options: Sung Bum Na (OF), Eui Ji Yang (C), Jin Sung Kang (1B/OF), Aaron Altherr (OF), Hee Dong Kwon (OF), Suk Min Park (3B), Myung Gi Lee (OF)

SamsungLions

While theydo not possess the most potent offense in the KBO, I love the Lions tonight fortournament play given that ownership is projecting to be favoring the KiwoonHeroes. While the latter does make an honorable mention going up against rookieYun Sik Kim of the LG Twins, who is making his first career start after beingfeatured solely out of the bullpen, the Samsung Lions get the nod here becauseof their matchup versus Chad Bell and the Hanwha Eagles. Every time Bell haspitched on a KBO slate, the opposing offense gets featured here and I have yetto be let down, so we’re going back to the well tonight. Shall we take a lookat Bell’s body of work thus far? He’s now 0-3 with an 8.44 ERA, 6.88 FIP, 2.11WHIP, and a 12.8% walk rate. The southpaw faces some quality right-handed batstonight and will be in tough; he finally pitched 6 innings for the first timeall season last game, and all that did was allow the LG offense to put up more runs;I’ll be overweight on the Lions barring any ownership changes.

Top Options:Tyler Saladino (3B/OF), Won Seok Lee (3B), Ja Wook Koo (1B/OF), Sang Su Kim(2B/3B), Hak Ju Lee (SS)

HonorableMention: KT Wiz, Kiwoon Heroes

You can find me in the WinDaily Discord chat and on Twitter @DFS_Ghost!

KBO Matchups

• HAN @ NCD
• LOT @ KT
• DOO @ LG
• SK @ KIW
• SAM @ KIA

Kings ofthe Hill

EricJokisch (L), KIW – $9,100 DK / $28 FD

The Kiwoonace comes in at a slight price reduction compared to the next target on thisKBO slate and is an elite option. Jokisch is now 5-2 on the season with a 1.68ERA, 3.27 FIP, 0.99 WHIP, and an 18% strikeout rate. While he’s coming offback-to-back losses and has only posted 7 strikeouts over that span, Jokisch facesan SK Wyverns squad that was just dominated by KIA’s pitching staff, and Ithink he gets back on track here with a 20+ DK point performance.

Hyun JongYang (L), KIA – $9,700 DK / $28 FD

The KIA southpaw is the highest-priced pitcher on the KBO slate, and rightfully so. I’m still a firm believer in his raw talent and think he’s really starting to find his groove in the 2020 campaign. Tonight, he gets a matchup versus the Samsung Lions that has massive DFS potential; the Lions are one of the leagues hardest teams to figure out, but after Ki Young Im’s performance yesterday, I think Yang should come in underowned with everyone flocking to Eric Jokisch for $600 cheaper. After a rough first inning where Im needed over 30 pitches and allowed 2 runs yesterday, he then settled down and struck out 5 en route to a win and 17.05 DK points. Yang boasts a superior skillset, and should he be able to avoid the early struggles that Im had, he could be a great tournament pivot off a chalky Jokisch. Pairing the two together should be an intriguing combination if you can afford the salary to do so.

GPP Options:Jin Ho Kim (R),NCD

TheBatter’s Box

NC Dinos

The Dinos are the top stack on tonight’s KBO slate, not just because they boast one of the league’s deepest lineups, but because they face Min Woo Kim of the Hanwha Eagles on the mound. Kim has shown flashes of raw talent versus LOT and KIA, but I’m targeting him tonight because it is his first start since being a part of the group that got sent down to the Futures league when Hanwha made massive changes to their roster and coaching staff, and because I’m expecting his 6.08 FIP and 2.25 HR/9 to get him into trouble early on.

Topoptions: Sung Bum Na (OF), Jin Sung Kang (1B/OF), Aaron Altherr (OF), Hee DongKwon (OF), Suk Min Park (3B)

Kiwoon Heroes

The Kiwoon Heroes have been dealing with their fair share of woes over the past two weeks, between leadoff hitter Keon Chang Seo going 1-for-17 in his last 4 games and star slugger Byung Ho Park’s strikeout struggles, but they are in a great spot tonight versus Ricardo Pinto and the SK Wyverns. Pinto has shown that he is a viable starter in the KBO, but struggles mightily with his command (11.5% walk rate) and that could get him into a lot of trouble tonight versus Kiwoon. The last time Pinto faced the Heroes, he needed 97 pitches to get through 4 innings, allowing 8 runs (7 earned) on 9 hits and 3 walks. Lock and load.

Top Options:Byung Ho Park (1B), Ha Seong Kim (SS), Jung Hoo Lee (OF), Dong Won Park (C), HyeSung Kim (2B/SS), Keon Chang Seo (1B/2B)

HonorableMention: KT Wiz, Doosan Bears

You can find me in the WinDaily Discord chat and on Twitter @DFS_Ghost!

KBO Matchups

• HAN @ NCD
• LOT @ KT
• DOO @ LG
• SK @ KIW
• SAM @ KIA

Kings ofthe Hill

Ki Young Im(R), KIA – $7,600 DK / $27 FD

With some decent pitching options at the top of the pricing grid on DK in terms of raw talent, none of them are my top option tonight. Rather, it is Ki Young Im of the KIA Tigers. If you’ve been keeping up with the daily KBO content, you saw that I was all over Im on his last start versus SK, where I pointed out the following:

While this is likely thefirst season that the majority of us follow the KBO, Ki Young Im has to be oneof its best kept secrets 34 games into the season. He’s quietly gone about hisbusiness en route to a 2-3 record, 3.34 ERA, 3.40 FIP, 20.9% strikeout rate and3% walk rate. His command is exceptional; he has the best walk rate out of allqualified pitchers in the KBO and gives us enough strikeout upside to target intournaments. He hasn’t scored less than 9 DK points yet this season and toppedoff at 25 versus LOT. Do I think he’ll score 25 again tonight? It’s unlikely,but for someone that might get overlooked being surrounded by more familiarnames in Woo Chan Cha, David Buchanan, Odrisamer Despaigne, and Seung Won Moon,I’ll gladly take the salary savings on DK and, in my opinion, the betterpitcher of that bunch on tonight’s KBO slate.

Well, the only thing Iwas wrong about what that Im actually did put up 25 DK points that night; 27.1to be exact. I’m not sure if he’s a secret anymore, but with a group of biggernames ahead of him on most people’s lists, I’ll gladly continue to deploy Im inmy KBO lineups. He’s now 3-3 on the season with a 2.82 ERA, 3.16 FIP, 1.12WHIP, and has great strikeout/walk numbers, coming in with a 22.1% strikeoutrate and 3.3% walk rate.

Tae In Won (R), SAM – $7,700 DK / $28 FD

Rarely do Irecommend playing two pitchers in the same game, but on a KBO slate where thetop options all have tough matchups with the exception of Jae Hak Lee of the NCDinos, who is just not worth a $8,900 price tag in my opinion, Tae In Won of theSamsung Lions is worth a look in tournaments. He’s come around with some greatperformances in 4 of his last 5 starts and is now 4-1 on the season with a 2.30ERA, 4.23 FIP, 1.30 WHIP, and a respectable 15.9% strikeout rate considering he’sonly 20 years old. While the top of the KIA order does offer some punch andcould be a threat to Won’s overall numbers, I’m willing to take a shot on thekid who has shut down KT’s and LG’s offenses twice, and has posted 20.1 DKpoints per game in his last 5.

GPP Options: Jae Hak Lee (R), NCD, Warrick Saupold (R), HAN (FD only)

TheBatter’s Box

LG Twins

Alright, Ipromise I am not doing it on purpose now. LG is yet again a top target on thisKBO slate and I’ll continue to go back to the well unless I see some indicationof this offense slowing down anytime soon. It’s now five days that they’ve beenfeatured in The Batter’s Box and have increased their run total to 45 in thatspan, accumulating 68 hits in the process.; 9 runs and 13.6 hits per game overtheir last 5? Facing a Doosan Bears bullpen all game? At home? Yes, please.

Topoptions: Roberto Ramos (1B), Hyun Soo Kim (OF), Eun Sung Chae (OF), Chun WoongLee (OF), Kang Nam Yoo (C), Ji Hwan Oh (SS)

DoosanBears

While Casey Kelly has been one of my favorite pitchers to use in KBO DFS, he’s looked awful in his last few starts, allowing 13 runs on 22 hits in his last 3. Yesterday, we saw Doosan explode for 18 runs, and while they were featured as an honorable mention, they’re a top stack today. Even if you decide to fade DOO, Joo Hwan Choi needs to be in all of your KBO lineups; he bats in the middle of the order and has now DECREASED in price on DK. Despite already being cheap at his usual tag of $2,500, at the minimum price of $2,000, he’s a lock no matter what.

Top Options:Joo Hwan Choi (1B/2B), Jose Fernandez (1B/2B), Jae Hwan Kim (OF/1B), Kun WooPark (OF), Jae Ho Kim (SS)

HonorableMention: KT Wiz

You can find me in the WinDaily Discord chat and on Twitter @DFS_Ghost!