KBO Daily Fantasy Baseball Helper: Thursday 7/16/20
MLB DFS is right around the corner, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Drew Rucinski (NC) |
$29 | R | @KIW | 3.87 | 2.24 | 1.10 | 21.9% | 7.4% | 5.69 | 18.5% | 979 |
| Sung-hyun Moon (Kiwoom) |
$28 | R | NC | 4.22 | 1.46 | 1.30 | 17.0% | 17.0% | 6.36 | 16.9% | 979 |
| Yoon-dong Heo (Samsung) |
$26 | L | KIA | 6.15 | 4.15 | 1.73 | 10.7% | 14.1% | 5.10 | 16.8% | 1093 |
| Chan-heon Jung (LG) |
$25 | R | @LOT | 3.53 | 2.62 | 1.07 | 23.7% | 5.7% | 4.79 | 15.8% | 1022 |
| Hyun-jong Yang (Kia) |
$25 | L | @SAM | 4.80 | 5.65 | 1.41 | 17.1% | 6.4% | 5.20 | 17.8% | 1093 |
| William Cuevas (KT) |
$24 | R | HAN | 4.48 | 4.67 | 1.26 | 17.8% | 7.0% | 3.59 | 19.2% | 973 |
| Seung-geon Baek (SK) |
$24 | L | @DOO | 10.35 | 7.00 | 2.33 | 19.6% | 19.6% | 6.25 | 14.7% | 959 |
| Min-woo Kim (Hanwha) |
$23 | R | @KT | 5.03 | 4.37 | 1.40 | 23.0% | 9.7% | 5.93 | 18.7% | 973 |
| Won-sam Jang (Lotte) |
$23 | L | LG | 6.44 | 7.20 | 1.60 | 5.9% | 5.9% | 5.35 | 16.4% | 1022 |
| Chris Flexen (Doosan) |
$20 | R | SK | 3.38 | 3.86 | 1.27 | 21.5% | 7.5% | 3.82 | 19.0% | 959 |
Let's check out which pitchers and stacks stand out on tonight's slate
Pitchers
Much like Raul Alcantara on Tuesday, the cheapest arm is also arguably the best one on Wednesday's slate. Chris Flexen ($20; Doosan Starting P) has solid marks across the board and draws the same matchup as Alcantara did against the light-hitting SK Wyverns. When accounting for talent, opponent, and park factor, no one rates better than Flexen.
Drew Rucinski ($29; Starting NC P) is a full $9 more expensive than Flexen, checking in as the night's most expensive hurler. He also gets a much tougher matchup versus the Kiwoom Heroes, too. Still, Rucinski's stats are as good or better than Flexen's, and he's in a pitcher-friendly ballpark against a team that strikes out a fair bit. The high salary ought to keep his popularity down in tournaments.
Chan-heon Jung ($25; LG Starting P) has the top strikeout rate, but he'll have a tougher time hitting his ceiling against a Lotte Giants squad that doesn't whiff often. The price point is much more appealing than Rucinski, though.
William Cuevas ($24; KT Starting P) hasn't performed as well as those three, but he does get the weakest opponent. He's shown enough punchout upside this season to earn tournament consideration.
Stacks
Won-sam Jang has been dreadful over three starts, only mustering 4 strikeouts across 15.0 innings while coughing up 12 earned runs. The southpaw hasn't had a good KBO season since 2014, the last time he finished with an ERA below 5.00. The LG Twins' bats have cooled off since their hot start in May, but they still have enough firepower to take advantage of such a juicy spot. Hyung-Jong Lee ($6) made his season debut last week and remains absurdly cheap for a middle-of-the-order bat. He tallied exactly 13 home runs and 6 stolen bases in both 2019 and 2018.
The Doosan Bears are once again in a good situation on Wednesday, as Seung-geon Baek is making just his second career start. He's been wild over three appearances, already piling up 9 walks in 9.0 innings, and the lackluster results speak for themselves. Although Baek is a lefty -- which isn't as ideal for Doosan's lefty-heavy lineup -- he's thrown under 70 pitches in all three outings, which means the Bears will also get to attack a middling bullpen that owns a collective 5.42 ERA.
The Kia Tigers should be in business against lefty Yoon-dong Heo even though their best sluggers -- Preston Tucker ($16) and Hyung-Woo Choi ($13) -- bat left-handed. Heo has a decent enough ERA, but everything else suggests a blow-up is coming, including that horrific 6.15 FIP. Chang-Jin Lee ($5) is practically free and has been leading off lately, while Ji-Wan Na ($9) and his nine dingers are easy to like at his salary.
Lastly, you probably don't need much encouraging to stack the NC Dinos on practically any given night, but they should roll against Sung-hyun Moon. Usually a bullpen arm, Moon is making just his second start this season and owns a career 4.99 ERA and 1.57 WHIP.
