Good afternoon and happy hump day! Hopefully you feel refreshed after a late… early day 2 slate. It remains to be seen whether or not the best play is to stay up until lock or go to bed and wake up shortly before to make final edits. What’s your routine so far? Firing up Call of Duty (big DFS series for that this weekend and we will have you covered) on my PS4 to pass time last night might just become part of my regular rhythm. A 7am wake up call from my kids after a 5am bedtime is so much more doable knowing there is baseball to be played.
The KBO slack chat was buzzing again, cheat sheets were on point and the winning lineups keep rolling in. Why not join our community today? With another juicy slate on the horizon, there is no better time than now! Use promo code CLINK for an additional 20% off 👊
⚾️ Matchups ⚾️
Jang Shi-hwan ($5,400, $23) vs. Park Jon-hun ($8,700, $26)
Hanwha Eagles (+155, 3.5 ) vs. SK Wyverns (-184, 5.5)
Jang Shi-hwan is a KBO veteran and has pitched in the league since 2007. The strikeout upside is there and he pitched very well in several games last season. On the other hand, when it rains it pours for him and he lacks consistency. All things considered, his price is low and is worth a look for GPP purposes.
Park Jong-hoon started 28 games last season and was serviceable. He had an ERA below 4 and struck out 100 batters in 144 innings pitched. While those numbers are relatively solid, they don’t justify his high price. It is important to note that the Wyverns are heavily favored and face a below average hitting team. He makes for a decent low risk cash play but has limited GPP upside.
Park Se-woong ($4,700, $25) vs. Bae Je-seong ($7,300, $23)
Lotte Giants (-104, 4.5) vs. KT Wiz (-112, 4.5)
Park Se-woong has been volatile from season to season in the KBO. After debuting in 2015, 2017 was his best season (3.68 ERA and 1.32 WHIP). He had a forgettable 2018 with a 9.92 ERA and 2.29 WHIP but then bounced back last year and posted an ERA of 4.20 and a WHIP just under 1.50. He makes for another intriguing GPP option because of his price.
Bae Je-seong pitched well last season but doesn’t showcase much to get excited about. A 10-10 record with an ERA of 3.76 and a 1.43 WHIP is about average. He is an okay cash play and I prefer him to Park Jong-hoon to save on $$ but not someone I will personally be targeting very much (if at all).
Koo Chang-mo ($5,700, $24) vs. David Buchanan ($6,100, $23)
NC Dinos (-149, 4.5) vs. Samsung Lions (+127, 3.5)
Koo Chang-mo is a young, talented arm. He is looking to build on last season after turning in career bests with ERA (3.20), SO/9 (9.6) and WHIP (1.18). The Samsung offense ranks in the bottom half of the league and in back to back September starts last season, Chang-mo allowed only 3 runs 11+ innings while striking out 9. He is priced way too low on DraftKings and there is a lot to like here in terms of talent & upside. All format play.
David Buchanan has bounced around the Minors, MLB and Japanese leagues and will be making his KBO debut. His last 3 seasons were spent in Japan and he compiled a 4.13 ERA and 1.39 WHIP over 464+ innings of work. His strikeout numbers are underwhelming but he has shown the ability to grind and pitch into the later innings. I’m not going to talk you off of him as a cheaper GPP option but know that his stuff is average and he’s in a tough matchup.
Chris Flexen ($9,200, $27) vs. Jung Chan-heon ($4,000, $22)
Doosan Bears (-196, 4.5) vs. LG Twins (+164, 3.5)
Chris Flexen spent the last 3 years with the New York Mets, compiling an 8.07 ERA and 2.132 WHIP in 68 career innings pitched. His walk rate was astronomical and SO/9 was average at best (although numbers did improve for him when pitching in AAA). TL;DR – He struggled against major league competition. How might this translate to the KBO? We’ve seen pitchers struggle even more than Flexen in the MLB come to the KBO and pitch well. Even so, I don’t see many reasons to roster him tonight… especially at his price.
Jung Chan-heon typically pitches in relief but is getting the starting nod tonight. His numbers last year show us that he has talent (1 strikeout per inning pitched and a pristine ERA of 1.64) but how many innings will he pitch? If yesterday is any indicator with how bullpen arms will be stretched out when starting, he likely could only see 2-3 innings of work. His salary is cheap but beware of his limited upside. GPP value dart for me.
Choi Won-tae ($8,000, $24) vs. Lee Min-woo ($6,900, $21)
Kiwoom Heroes (-198, 5.5) vs. Kia Tigers (+165, 3.5)
Choi Won-tae will be pitching in his 6th KBO season and has improved every year. He’s pitches to contact, has great control (only 36 BB in 157+ IP) and seems to have discovered his identity. The offense up against him tonight is considered below average and were carved up last time they faced him back in September when he gave up only 1 run in 7 innings. Choi Won-tae makes for a great cash play, has some GPP upside if he can pitch into the later innings and is most likely on the slate to get the win.
Lee Min-woo appeared in 32 games last season but started only 6 of them. He finds himself up against one of the most explosive offenses in the KBO and could be in for a rough day. Unlike Jung Chan-heon, Min-woo was stretched out during the preseason so pitch count won’t be an issue. He does have some strikeout upside if trying to be contrarian but doesn’t check many other boxes. He is worth a few more darts on FanDuel because of his price but is not someone I will be going out of my way to target.
💭 Clinks Thinks 💭
Cash: Park Jon-hun | Choi Won-tae
GPP: Park Se-woong | Jang Shi-hwan
ALL: Koo Chang-mo
Fade: Chris Flexen | David Buchanan
📝 Final Notes 📝
As you begin building your lineups, keep these things in mind:
- Pay attention to names
- There are many players with similar last names in the KBO. Look things over multiple times and save yourself the heartache of rostering the wrong player.
- Wins and IP are going to matter more
- Hitters don’t strike out as often in the KBO. Be sure you are targeting pitchers who you think will have run support and can pitch deep into a game.
- Do your best to stay up to date with lineups through first pitch.
- It sounds like we may not get final lineups submitted until 1-2 hours before game time. This makes for a late night but will help ensure no dead spots in your lineups.
- Give yourself the best chance to win
- Use all of the tools at your disposal to conduct your research and build lineups. Utilize the MyKBOStats database (thanks to them for providing our stat tables), follow the KBO reddit and join the amazing DFS Army Community – slack chat with coaches, research articles/data, cheat sheets and a DraftKings lineup optimizer to give you an edge over the competition.
Fire up some video games, jump into our DFS Army KBO Slack channel and get your coffee flowing. It’s time to make some money! 💰 💵 💰