KBO DFS: DraftKings slate preview for July 8th

If you haven’t been grinding Korean Baseball Organization (KBO) in the early hours with me every morning, I will be posting some articles over the next couple weeks exclusively on FTN to catch you up to speed. These will include top hitters on each team, the mess that is every team’s bullpen, and some GPP lineup reviews. For now, a few things to know about my preferences in KBO DFS:

• I have a huge man-crush on Chang Moo Ko (NCD pitcher) and Jin Sung Kang (NCD 1B/OF), so get used to it.
• I usually hate playing chalk in tournaments, but there has been some success locking in chalk pitchers in GPPs and then targeting lower owned stacks, as bullpens have been horrendous this year.
• I am still convinced the biggest edge is waking up 30 minutes before lock to check the weather and starting lineups. The starting lineups don’t come out until about 5:00 a.m. EST (on a regular slate), which is only 30 minutes before lock. Having a plan for quick pivot options and glancing at weather updates is key. (You will be amazed at the number of entries that have non-starters rostered night in and night out.)
• Please make sure to check my Twitter (@DFSchaser) for more thoughts and any updates as the day progresses. Starting pitchers are only projected and could change from the time this article is written to when teams make announcements.

Projected Starting Pitchers

Dan Straily – Dan and I have a very tense relationship at the moment. He has become one of the top pitchers in KBO, but his MLB days are still very vivid. His price is insane – $10,000 – on DraftKings, but there is no other pitcher that grades out as a clear SP#1 (or SP#2 for that matter) tonight. His 26.2% K% is top three in KBO, he has the lowest FIP on the slate, and he is in the best possible matchup, facing the league-worst (although recently playing well) Hanwha Eagles. Straily has to find his way on your cash lineup, but I won’t fault you for fading him at his 65%+ ownership in GPPs tomorrow morning.

Jong Gi Park – The only other starting pitcher with a plus 20% K% is worth a flier as your SP#2 tonight. He faces the LG Twins, who are league average in hitting in almost all categories (Team OPS of .770). It isn’t an ideal matchup for Park but certainly not one to shy away from. He got roughed up by Kiwoom in his last time out but if he can keep Roberto Ramos’s balls inside the park, he should bounce back here for 12-14 DK points. Hopefully, Doosan can get to Casey Kelly and provide some run support.

Other SP#2 Pitching Options: Jae Hak Lee, Tae In Won

Fade: Casey Kelly

Chalk Hitting Stacks

• Samsung Lions – Projected to face Sung Hyun Moon, who is making a spot start. This should be a bullpen game.
• NC Dinos – Highest Vegas team run line at 6.5 and the SK bullpen is almost as bad as theirs.
• Lotte Giants – It is still popular and profitable to stack against Hanwha.

Underowned: Doosan Bears – Casey Kelly should get some ownership tonight with little SP#2 options, which should bring Doosan’s ownership down. Doosan is a much better hitting team on the road, but I still like them here tonight with slightly decreased ownership.

Team Spotlight 

Here are all the Doosan Bears who are viable for stacking (filtered by wRC+):

Data from Fangraphs.com 7.7.20