**UPDATED: SATURDAY 6/20, 7:11 PM**
As tournament selections and prize payouts teeter back and forth between work week and weekend slates, KBO Daily Fantasy is now forced to share the spotlight with a slew of League of Legends (I’m not complaining), Golf, English Premier League soccer, and starting Friday…Japanese Baseball. At this rate, we’re in for one wild summer when NBA and NHL return.
Despite the competition across the DFS landscape, the weekend matchups presented in KBO offer much intrigue on behalf of lopsidedness on paper, with two of the top four teams in NC Dinos and Kiwoom Heroes squaring off with the other side of the competitive spectrum in bottom-feeders SK Wyverns and Hanwha Eagles.
This leaves us with the remaining matchups all presumed to be betting lines within inches of each other, such as KT Wiz versus Lotte Giants (lower tier in standings), as well as Doosan and LG (ranked two and three) dueling it out for a second place standing that seems to encroach the Dinos supremacy just that much closer by the day.
We’re due for some stellar pitching as well, with the Dinos getting rained out in their Thursday finale with Kia, Chang Mo Koo will likely deal heat on Friday followed by Jae Hak Lee over Saturday or Sunday. I’m stoked just typing this.
So let’s dive into a weekend of DFS buffet style, starting off with our staple servings of KBO…
Hitters
Tyler Saladino (3B/OF), Samsung Lions (vs. KIA)
The once-removed Milwaukee Brewer shortstop started the KBO season off sluggish, but has since flipped the ignition switch to slugging, as Tyler Saladino has become an offensive spark to this Samsung Lions roster seeking answers in consistent production.
Sporting a 146 wRC+ rating that currently stands as the sixteenth best in the stat category of all KBO (among players over 100 plate appearances), Saladino is a tournament-caliber roster selection with a knack for either producing in double-digits or swinging himself into strikeouts (26% strikeout rate).
Clearly this isn’t a metric of sheer confidence to invest in, but as of lately this is becoming a different story. Six of his last eight games (as of very early Thursday) have featured DraftKings Fantasy Point performances of 12 or higher, and two home runs in his past five.
He isn’t the cheapest player in the bunch, although he’s far from the top shelf of spending options, hovering in the low-mid $4K range nightly. Hitting at the heart of the Lions order at the 3-4 spot, Saladino fits into three-man Samsung stacks (3-4-5; 1-2-3) quite nicely, while using him as a Guaranteed Prize Pool one-off (who doesn’t break the bank) fits the bill as well.
Han Joon Yoo (OF), KT Wiz (vs. LOT)
Speaking of “boom-or-bust” tournament plays of affordability, Han Joon Yoo is another, who’s hitting at the cleanup spot for KT and returning to life as of recently at the plate. And this isn’t frivolous use of the phrase, as his last eight games speak for themselves in DKFP: 17-3-23-0-23-5-20-5.
The thing that strikes my attention is how he started the season looking quite consistent until suffering an adductor injury in mid/late May that he struggled in his first couple of weeks coming back from…until the numbers as of more recently (as mentioned) appearing evident that his comeback party is starting, albeit delayed.
Han Joon Yoo is rocking a sturdy 139 wRC+, .927 OPS, and .404 wOBA for the season, and has become an outright value in the Bargain range these days ($3,600 and below). Against a Lotte Giants team whose pitching beyond Dan Straily is questionable at best (and Straily just went Thursday morning, so he’s out of the question this weekend), Han Joon Yoo should see some fruitful opportunities for fantasy production through Sunday as we continue to monitor the uptick in his production.
Other Hitters I’ll Entrust My Rosters To This Weekend:
High ($4,600+):
-Sung Bum Na (OF), NCD
-Eui Ji Yang (C), NCD
-Baek Ho Kang (1B/OF), KT
-Jose Miguel Fernandez (1B/2B), DOO
-Preston Tucker (OF), KIA
-Mel Rojas Jr (OF), KT
-Jung Hoo Lee (OF), KIW
-Aaron Altherr (OF), NCD
-Ja Wook Koo (1B/OF), SAM
-Jeong Choi (3B/SS), SK
-Jamie Romak (1B/OF), SK
Mid ($3,600-$4,500):
-Jin Sung Kang (1B/OF), NCD
-Keon Chang Seo (1B/2B), KIW
-Won Seok Lee (3B), SAM
-Hak Ju Lee (SS), SAM
-Jun Woo Jeon (OF), LOT
-Dae Ho Lee (1B), LOT
-Chang Pyung Kim (2B/3B), SK
-Ju Suk Ha (SS), HAN
-Ho Ryeong Kim (OF), LG
-Kang Nam Yoo (C), LG
-Ji Wan Na (OF), LG
-Hoon Jung (2B), LOT
-Ah Seop Son (OF), LOT
-Jae Il Oh (1B), DOO
Bargain ($2,100-$3,500):
-Kun Woo Park (OF), DOO
-Jin Haeng Choi (OF), HAN
-Chi Hong An (2B), LOT
-Sung Gyu Lee (2B/3B), SAM
-Eun Sung Chae (OF), LG
-Hae Min Park (OF), SAM
-Kang Min Kim (OF), SK
-Ji Hwan Oh (SS), LG
-Se Hyuk Park (C), DOO
-Jeong Dae Bae (OF), KT
-Hee Dong Kwon (OF), NCD
-Joo Hwan Na (2B), LG
-Joo Hwan Choi (1B/2B), DOO
Pitchers
Woo Chan Cha, LG Twins (vs. DOO)
Besides a brief two-start hiccup just after the start of the season, Woo Chan Cha has been quite reliable dealing from the mound for LG Twins while providing sound fantasy results as well. Facing a Doosan offense who you never know which version you’re going to get on a nightly basis, the solidified talents of Woo Chan Cha factor in as either an interesting tournament play (likely lower-owned based on price and opponent) or a noteworthy Cash Game play.
The 15-year career starting pitcher has been having one of his better years by the numbers in comparison to a majority of his previous ones engrained. He’s currently posting a 1.42 WHIP (vs. 1.44 career), an impressive 20.6% strikeout rate, modest 4.5 ERA (modest by KBO standards anyhow), and a 4-2 record in 2020.
Averaging 15.7 DraftKings Fantasy Points per game this season has clear room for improvement, but that number also accounts for a 0.40 and 2.4 DKFP performance duds, with his best performance of 26.50 coming against these very same Doosan Bears to start the season. With the way Doosan has been underachieving half the time as of lately, I am willing to believe Woo Chan Cha can outduel the Bears into a 20+ performance once again.
Hyun Jong Yang, Kia Tigers (vs. SAM)
Another solid starter who garners less attention than he should be, Hyun Jong Yang seems to only do so when squaring off against some schlubby opponents. Which, in retrospect, used to be much more of a pronounced case for the opposing Samsung Lions, who have become much more dangerous than the previous kittens we saw to enter the season (although gaining in the standings seems hard to come by for them regardless of improved offense).
Upon facing the Lions in his second start of 2020, Hyun Jong Yang cost what was a bit of an unproven premium at $9,500 (kick back, Cy Young) and produced a more-than-passable 16.50 DKFP performance. Since then his price has yet to dwindle, yet the stats have come quietly in support of the asking salary.
In his last three starts: 21.10, 17.05, 27.35 DKFP. With seeing how there are only nine other guys per night to entrust with your allocated pitching fantasy dollars, I would much rather spend up on a dude like Hyun Jong than save a few bucks for a pending dumpster fire.
In his last outing (the 27-point gem), he sent ten batters back to their dugouts empty-handed, and has done so 19.9% of the time this season. With a stellar 1.16 WHIP (ranked eight overall among KBO pitchers), sub-4.0 ERA, and against a Lions offense donning a 0.326 OBP (ranked 8-of-10 in KBO), Hyun Jong Yang is a weekend nod in Cash Games and GPPs.
Other Pitchers I Will Party With This Weekend:
Friday:
-David Buchanan, SAM
-Chang Mo Koo, NCD (deja vu)
-Se Woong Park, LOT (CONTRARIAN)
-Drew Gagnon, KIA
-Hyun Hee Han, KIW
-Je Seong Bae, KTW (CONTRARIAN)
Saturday
-Jae Hak Lee, NCD
-Ki Young Im, KIA
-Tae In Won, SAM
-Young Gun Jo, KIW (CONTRARIAN)
-Casey Kelly, LG
Sun:
-Min Ho Lee, LG
-Eric Jokisch, KIW
-Raul Alcantara, DOO
-Hyun Jong Yang, KIA
-Jin Ho Kim, NCD
Stacks
While I will be getting to just about stacks from every team in the next three days, the following are going to be favorites that I’ll be chasing for a variety of reasons rolled into one ranking (in numerical order):
