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While MLB appears to still be at least a month or so away from restarting, we don’t have to wait any longer for some professional baseball and – most importantly – baseball DFS. The Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) is underway and DraftKings is welcoming the KBO into the fold with contests for big prizes. On Sunday morning, the action gets underway at 4:00 a.m. ET.
What do we know about the league? Who should we be putting into lineups? Let’s figure out all this together, position-by-position.
Set your lineups here: KBO $30K Relay Throw [$10K to 1st] (Korean Baseball)
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What to know about the KBO
PITCHER
Stud
Aaron Brooks, KIA at KIW, $8,500 – There are a few viable options on the high end for Sunday and I perceive Brooks as the safest play. Both Drew Rucinski ($9,300) and Chris Flexen ($8,400) have pitched well, but it’s tough to be confident in them pitching against each other. Going up against the Dinos and Bears, there is potential for either of those guys to get lit up. This is what brings me to rostering Brooks. Not only is he averaging 18.6 DKFP, but he’s also scored at least 18 DKFP in four consecutive starts.
Value
Se Woong Park, LOT vs. SAM, $6,500 – Finding a cheap pitcher for this slate is tricky. There isn’t a single starting pitcher priced under $8,000 that averages double-digit DKFP. I think it makes the most sense to pay up for a couple of the more expensive pitchers since they are not as likely to completely blow up a lineup. As for the cheaper pitchers, Park has at least pitched reasonably well lately. He’s scored double-digit DKFP in three of his past four starts.
CATCHER
Stud
Eui Ji Yang, NCD at DOO, $5,700 – As expected, Yang has been the best catcher in the KBO this season. After leading the league in wRC+ a year ago, he’s put up a 138 wRC+ this season and averages 9.1 DKFP. After a couple of consecutive hitless games, Yang had a pair of hits in his last game, which is hopefully a sign of things to come.
Value
Sung Woo Jang, KTW at HAN, $3,600 – Rostering cheap catchers is always a bit of a crapshoot. Every player at the position priced under $4,600 averages less than 6.0 DKFP. At least in Jang, we get a guy who’s been getting on a base with a bit of consistency. He has a .282 batting average and has reached base in six consecutive games.
FIRST BASE
Stud
Jae Hwan Kim, DOO vs. NCD, $4,900 – Kim has been on a great power run lately. He’s homered in three of his past five games and has even stolen a couple of bases this week to add to his DFS upside. This has led to Kim scoring at least 18 DKFP in four of his past six games.
Value
Jae Il Oh, DOO vs. NCD, $3,700 – Oh was hitting really well earlier the month before he went to the injured list due to a side injury. After missing a couple of weeks, the Bears activated him and it didn’t take long for him to start looking good at the plate again. In his past two games, Oh has racked up five hits, alleviating any concerns regarding his health.
SECOND BASE
Stud
Jose Fernandez, DOO at NCD, $5,500 – Fernandez might have the best ability to hit for contact in the KBO. He’s only struck out 13 times all season and with a .379 batting average, there’s a pretty high chance he ends up winning a batting title this season. Fernandez was struggling with DFS upside a couple of months ago, but he seems to have gotten out of his funk. He’s scored double-digit DKFP in four of his past five games.
Value
Chi Hong An, LOT vs. SAM, $3,200 – We have another hitter coming back from an injury here. An spent time on the injured list due to a hamstring injury and was activated a couple of days ago. Since coming back, An has averaged 7.0 DKFP and has a stolen base. The stolen base is promising since it makes me feel good about the health of his hamstring. Speed is a big part of An’s game and he’s swiped eight bases this season.
THIRD BASE
Stud
Jae Gyun Hwang, KTW at HAN, $4,900 – After scoring 31 DKFP on Saturday, Hwang figured to be decently popular on Sunday. One thing that I have taken note of lately is Hwang’s plate discipline. When struggling this year, strikeouts have been an issue. Hwang has only drawn nine walks all season and four of them have come in the past couple of games. He’s been in and out of the lineup due to injuries and the walk numbers from his past couple of games are an indication that Hwang is currently comfortable at the plate.
Value
Kyoung Min Hur, DOO vs. NCD, $2,400 – By a wide margin, Hur is the top value at third base and this has been the case for a while. Not only could he end up being the cheapest player to start at the position on Sunday, but he also leads all third basemen with an average of 8.6 DKFP. Hur is also coming off a big game with 16 DKFP.
SHORTSTOP
Stud
Ha Seong Kim, KIW vs. KIA, $5,200 – We are going to need an update on the status of Kim before the slate locks. He left Saturday’s game with an ankle injury, so it’s up in the air whether he will be able to play on Sunday. Even if active, the injury could suppress his ownership and he has the most upside of any shortstop. Prior to getting hurt, Kim had scored at least 12 DKFP in five of his past six games and hit three homers over that stretch.
Value
Ji Hwan Oh, LG at SK, $3,500 – Before going hitless on Saturday, Oh had a 12-game hitting streak going. He also brings speed upside to the table and has stolen nine bags this season. Look for him to start another hitting streak starting Sunday. Oh hasn’t had back-to-back games without a hit all season.
OUTFIELD
Stud
Mel Rojas Jr., KTW at HAN, $6,000 – The best power hitter in the KBO, Rojas leads the league with 17 homers and has been launching the ball out of parks recently. He’s homered in three consecutive games and has eight homers in his past 15 games. This has brought Rojas’ DKFP average up to 12.1. He leads all KBO hitters in DKFP per game.
Value
Hee Dong Kwon, NCD at DOO, $2,600 – If you need a cheap outfielder to save salary with, Kwon offers a lot of floor at nearly min price. He nearly has a .500 OBP for the month of June and shown a great eye at the plate. Kwon has reached base in all but one game this month and averages 8.3 DKFP overall.
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I am a promoter at DraftKings and am also an avid fan and user (my username is gehrenberg) and may sometimes play on my personal account in the games that I offer advice on. Although I have expressed my personal view on the games and strategies above, they do not necessarily reflect the view(s) of DraftKings and I may also deploy different players and strategies than what I recommend above. I am not an employee of DraftKings and do not have access to any non-public information.