KBO DFS: Previewing the slate for April 10

KBO on DraftKings is back! I will be covering the weekend slates this season and each KBO article will be FREE on FTNDaily! If you like this article, make sure you check out all of our daily MLB DFS coverage from the best team in the industry! DraftKings is offering a five-game slate for the Korean Baseball Organization (KBO) on Saturday morning April 10th, with lock set at 1:00 a.m. EST. I am here to give you my top KBO DFS pitchers and some stacks to consider.

KBO Reminders:

• Only 10 teams in the KBO, so these teams will play each other 16 times. Games are played daily in series of 2-3, with an off day on Monday (our Sunday night).
• Each team can have up to three foreign players, with a maximum of two foreign pitchers. Majority of these players are former MLB and MiLB players.
• One of the biggest advantages is waking up 30 minutes before lock and checking weather and starting lineups (especially during the week when games start at 5:30 a.m. EST). Starting lineups don’t come out until 30 minutes before lock. Having a plan for quick pivot options and glancing at weather updates is key.
• 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.
• Rain and PPD Updates: Check KBO’s official twitter page and/or the weather 30 minutes prior to lock (just set your Weather Channel app to Seoul, South Korea and overlay using this map, courtesy of batflipsandnerds.com, to look at which games are likely to play).

Slate Notes: This is the 6th game for most teams, so we will rely on stats from last year and career stats as we dig into the slate.

Starting pitcher rankings

1. Drew Rucinski – Rucinski grades out as the top option on this slate. He was very solid in his first start with 6 Ks in 5 innings. Last season, he sported an 8.21 K/9, which was sixth best in the KBO, a 1.26 WHIP (10th best) and a 3.79 FIP (7th best). He faces the KIA Tigers, who aren’t the easiest matchup on paper, but if he can pitch around Preston Tucker (who has started off the year slow) and Hyung Woo Choi, he should be able to put up another solid performance. He will be chalky in all formats.
2. Dan Straily – If you followed me last year, you probably remember that I have a love-hate relationship with Dan Straily. While he pitched phenomenal by KBO standards last year (26.4% K% and a league-leading 1.02 WHIP), I still can’t get images from 2019 of him getting rocked in an Orioles jersey out of my head. Straily takes on the Kiwoom Heroes in his second start of the season. Even though he projects as my second highest raw points pitcher, I am a full fade on Straily for Saturday morning, as I think the Heroes will be one of the better teams in the league.
3. Casey Kelly – Casey Kelly, while a pretty good real-life pitcher in the KBO, is tough to roster in DFS at this price tag even though he has arguably the best pitching matchup of the top three salary pitchers on Draftkings. I know he struck out 6 NC Dinos (league champions last season) in his debut, but, last season, Kelly only had a 19% K% and a 6.96 K/9. Ground balls and soft contact are where he lives. He uses his 90 MPH fastball nearly 45% of the time and then follows it up effectively with his slider or curveball to get weak ground balls. (Of note: he had about an 84% contact rate on his fastball in 2020, which could be trouble this year.) Last season he was right at around the league average whiff percentage of 23%, so not overpowering stuff by any means. I want to roster some bigger bats, so will look elsewhere for a cheaper SP2 option.

SP2/GPP Options

• Artie Lewicki – Lewicki is a new addition to the KT Wiz who I am excited to watch this season. He only pitched in 19 MLB games, but his career 1.24 minor league WHIP and 8.09 K/9 should translate nicely in KBO. Going to continue targeting him while he is priced below $8,000.
• Hyeong Jun So – Another pitcher who doesn’t usually overpower hitters (even though he had 7 K’s in his 2021 debut), his 3.86 FIP and 1.40 WHIP were near ninth and 16th respectively in the league last season. An above-average matchup against the Samsung Lions who have struggled out of the gate.

Team hitting stack targets

1. KT Wiz
2. Doosan Bears
3. NC Dinos

Low-owned stack: Kiwoom Heroes or KIA Tigers. Two good hitting teams going against some of KBO’s best pitchers from last season. It is still early in the season and if either Straily or Rucinski get in trouble, they could be pulled after 4-5 innings to keep their pitch count in check.

Lineup construction note: There is lots of value this early in the season, so don’t feel like you need to full-on stack just yet. Spend up for the studs like Sung Bum Na (NCD) and Kun Woo Park (DOO) and then roster some great spend down plays like Si Hwan Roh (HAN), who is leading the league in OPS (minimum 10 at-bats), or Chang Ki Hong (LG), who has started off the year on fire with 10 hits in 21 at-bats. My favorite tournament one-off for Saturday is Sun Bin Kim (KIA), who has multiple hits in four of the first five games and will have no ownership going up against Rucinski.