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Welcome to another weekly edition of our KBO DFS value plays! As DFS players and bettors are looking for any way to get in on some action while we wait for more professional sports to return stateside, the Korean Baseball Organization has been the hero we all needed, providing an entertaining version of America’s favorite past time.
Putting together lineups for the KBO is no different than putting together your standard MLB DFS lineup aside from the fact that you may not know who any of these players are. Numbers don’t lie though and you can still analyze these players the same as you would for typical MLB DFS. To build your roster select 2 P’s, 3 OF’s, and one of each of the following positions: C, 1B, 2B, SS, and 3B while staying under the $50,000 salary cap. The slates lock around 3:00 AM EST so you have all day Friday to tinker with rosters. Due to this odd start time for us in the States, however, it’s important to make sure you double-check your rosters either late Friday night before they lock, just in case a player selected isn’t in the starting lineup.
There are some solid resources out there to help you build these lineups. The best I have found so far that I have really enjoyed is the free KBO lineup building model over at Occupy Fantasy. These guys have done a solid job of giving you a thorough, yet, user-friendly model that incorporates some key statistics you would want to know for setting your lineups at both DK and FD, including things like park factors and team totals from betting lines which are two of my favorite things to look at for this process. KBO DFS (@DfsKbo) has also been a sharp follow on Twitter and MyKBO Stats is a must for deep diving. Rotowire has also been a top player in KBO DFS coverage and even recently created a KBO-specific Twitter handle that is a key follow.
The main tournament to target for Saturday is a $12 entry with $20k going to first place. This slate is unique since it features just four games for Saturday instead of five with the LG Twins vs. KIA Tigers starting at midnight, so you have even fewer players to choose from than normal. The first place NC Dinos will likely be a popular team to stack this weekend as they take on the 8-13 Samsung Lions, even though they lost to the Lions yesterday 4-5. Aside from that series, the rest of the teams are pretty evenly matched for this slate.
Let’s get started with some picks for the full slate to kick off our Friday!
Set Daily KBO Lineups at DraftKings for Your Chance to Win $20,000! 
Pitchers
Mike Wright (NCD) at SAM: $8,900
You have to pay up at pitcher in these KBO contests with such few players to choose from. Mike Wright (not to be confused with @FFHitman) still comes in as a slight value, however, as he’s $200 cheaper than the most expensive option, Won-tae Choi. Wright has done pretty much everything you could ask of a successful starter through his first four games of the season. He sits at 3-0 with 20 Ks, a 2.86 ERA, and 1.14 WHIP while averaging 17.8 PPG on DraftKings. He’s pitched at least five innings in each start this season and thrown at least 90 pitches in each appearance. While the Samsung Lions host one of the most hitter-friendly parks in the KBO, four runs is about the most you could expect against him in this contest and with the powerful Dinos offense behind him, he’s in a good spot to pick up his fourth win of the season.
Ricardo Pinto (SK) vs. HAN: $7,400
Both pitchers are intriguing in this matchup between the two worst teams in the KBO right now. While Hanwha Eagles pitcher Shi-hwan Jang is the cheaper option at $6,700, Ricardo Pinto is the better player to target. Pinto will get home-field advantage on his side against an Eagles team that has dropped eight of their last 10 games. Pinto also had a lot of success when he faced this team in his first outing of the season where he allowed just one run on three hits over 6.2 innings. It’s his only win of the season and his best fantasy performance of the season as he put up 19.4 points that game. He’s coming off an up and down last inning where he allowed 13 hits but just one earned run over seven innings against KIA. He doesn’t have tremendous strikeout upside as he’s K’d four or fewer in each game this season, but he offers proven success in this matchup and is worth grabbing as your second pitching option.
Catcher
Jin-sung Kang (NC) at SAM: $3,300
Kang is eligible as a catcher but has been filling in at first base as of late which has led him to a lot of early-season success. He’s averaging 10.2 PPG so far this season — most amongst all catchers. He’s reached double-digit fantasy points in six games this season and crossed the 20-point threshold twice. He carries a .478/.538/.870 slash line into this plus matchup while tying for the team lead in Homeruns at five.
MyKBO’s Home Run Bat-Flip of the Day featuring NC’s Kang Jin-sung. Here for the bat-flip, stay for the home run lei.
🔊SBS Sports with the call pic.twitter.com/6pAc1FGNaw
— Dan Kurtz (@MyKBO) May 27, 2020
First Base
Keon-chang Seo (KIW) vs KTW: $3,600
You can get a solid value below $4k at first base here with the Kiwoom Heroes first baseman, Keon-chang Seo. He’s been about as consistent as they come in DFS with just two games under five fantasy points in 15 games. He’s crossed double digits in nine games, including two of his last three. His 9.7 PPG ranks fourth-best at first base despite his salary ranking 12th. The Heroes will be facing pitcher William Cuevas in this matchup who has allowed four earned runs in each of his last two starts. Seo gives you a safe floor with upside for more. He’s also eligible at second base if you’re torn between two players here.
Who had the better batflip from the KBO this morning:
Keon-chang Seo of the Kiwoom Heroes
or
Ju-hyeon Jung of the LG Twins? pic.twitter.com/e0Tjqf4di1— Alex Fast (@AlexFast8) May 14, 2020
Second Base
Jin-hyuk No (NCD) at SAM: $3,100
We’ll grab more Dinos here by taking 2B/SS eligible Jin-hyuk No. He’s averaged 7.4 PPG so far this season but has put up totals of 13 and 19 in his last two games. During this recent stretch, he’s racked up five hits in eight at-bats with three runs, three RBIs, and one HR. The Dinos are facing pitcher David Buchanan in this matchup who has had an up and down season. He allowed no earned runs in two of his last three starts but allowed 10 against the LG Twins on 5/19 and allowed five runs against the NC Dinos in his first outing of the season. There’s room for success here and with No’s recent hot streak he makes for a good play.
NO. LEAD. IS. SAFE.
No Jin-hyuk 2-Run HR 🚫#KBO | #NCDinos pic.twitter.com/Nmm0u057mE
— taewoongi (태웅) 17-4 (@taewoongii) May 28, 2020
Third Base
Kyoung-min Hur (DOO) vs. LOT: $2,600
If you’re looking for some boom or bust appeal on the cheap, Hur could be your guy. He’s coming off one of his best performances of the season on Friday where he went 2-for-2 with a HR, one RBI, and one stolen base. He’s put up double-digit fantasy point in two of his last four games and had multi-hit games in four of his last six. The long ball on Friday was just his second of the season, but he’s done well hitting for average this season with a .329 BA and .847 OPS on the season. His 8 FPPG ranks third-best amongst third basemen, just .4 points behind top dog Jae-gyun Hwang, though Hur’s salary ranks all the way down at 21st.
Shortstop
Tyler Saladino (SAM) vs. NCD: $4,000
We’ll hedge our NC Dinos bets a little here by going with Sam’s Tyler Saladino. It’s slim pickings at SS right now in KBO to find players at a value price who have had recent success. Saladino has put up at least seven fantasy points in each of his last three games. He went 2-for-4 against NC on Friday scoring one run. He’s shown a ceiling of 20 fantasy points recently against the Lotte Giants. Saladino is better than what we have seen from him so far and could get hot at any moment as he gets acclimated in his first season in the KBO. He had success in the MLB before with both the White Sox and Brewers. I like his chances here.
TYLER SALADINO TATER WITH THE RING AROUND THE ROSEY CHEERLEADER CELEBRATION pic.twitter.com/tgdBHW64i3
— Céspedes Family BBQ (@CespedesBBQ) May 8, 2020
Outfield
Sung-bum Na (NCD) at SAM: $4,800
It’s really hard to fade Na at this point as he has been an absolute menace in the KBO. He’s had double-digit fantasy points in each of his last six games and multiple hits in five of them. Friday was the only game he didn’t have more than one hit during that stretch, but he made it count by putting it over the fence. He’s had three HRs in his last two games and put up 34 fantasy points as recent as Thursday against Kiwoom. He carries a .329 BA and 1.049 OPS into this game with seven HRs on the season. If you roster just one NC Dino tonight, make it Na.
Sung-Bum Na with a Home Run down the right field line. This guy is a Scott Boras client, will be headed to MLB very soon pic.twitter.com/3O96gUrKAN
— Marc Luino (@GiraffeNeckMarc) May 5, 2020
Jin-gi Jeong (SK) vs. HAN: $3,800
The SK Wyverns are going to be a team that could easily outperform expectations on this slate as they face the struggling Hanwha Eagles. Jeong had a stellar first game in this series on Friday going 2-for-4 with one run, two RBIs, and a stolen base. He put up 17 FPTS in the game which was his second-best outing of the season on DraftKings. He’s shown a steady floor as of late not dropping below five points in each of his last six games. He’s scored at least one run in four of those games and had multiple hits in three of them.
Jeong-dae Bae (KTW) at KIW: $2,300
Bae-Bae is crazy undervalued right now at just $2,300. He’s put up no less than eight FPTS in his last five games and crossed the double-digit threshold three times in that stretch. He went 4-f0r-4 in the first game of this series against Kiwoom on Friday with a double. He’s not a long-ball hitter as he’s yet to knock one out of the park this season, but he does carry a super-impressive .411 BA and 1.039 OPS while averaging 9.1 FPPG which is fifth-best amongst active outfielders while his salary is near the stone minimum.
Set Daily KBO Lineups at DraftKings for Your Chance to Win $20,000!
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John Ferguson is a featured writer and editor at FantasyPros. For more from John, check out his archive and follow him @FantasyFerguson.
