KBO DFS: Previewing the slate for April 11

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DraftKings is offering a five-game slate for the Korean Baseball Organization Sunday morning, with lock set at 1 a.m. ET. I am here to give you my top KBO DFS pitchers and some stacks to consider.

KBO reminders 

• There are 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 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. ET). 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).

Starting pitcher rankings

1. Andrew Suarez (LG) — The former MLB southpaw will not be under $8,000 for much longer this season, so roster him while you can. It’s a great matchup for the ex-San Francisco Giant, who had a career 1.36 WHIP in 202 innings in the big leagues. He draws a positive matchup against the SSG Landers, who should finish in the bottom half of the league in batting come October.
2. Myung Gi Song (NCD) — Of the starting pitcher options on this slate who pitched in the KBO last year, Song was arguably the best fantasy option of the bunch. He had a 7.39 K/9 and 1.33 WHIP in 88 innings last year. He faces the KIA Tigers, who definitely have some bats that can pop, but Song is a junk ball guy and tops out at about 88mph. He relies on his sinker, slider, and changeup to keep hitters off balance and get lots of ground balls (which keeps him out of big innings). Great SP2 option.
3. Odrisamer Despaigne (KT) — Despaigne is a fade for me, but with not a whole lot of options on this slate he will get some ownership since he is facing the Samsung Lions. He had a few high-scoring fantasy games last season, but his 6.5 K/9 and 4.33 ERA was really nothing to boast about.

GPP option: Jong Hoon Park (SSG) — Highest K/9 on this slate returning from last year, but not an ideal matchup or potent offense behind him so nothing more than a tournament pivot. 

Fade

• I need to see more from Daniel Mengden (KIA) and Ryan Carpenter (HAN) in the KBO before recommending them against the two best offensives from last year. 

Team hitting stack targets

1. KT Wiz
2. Lotte Giants 
3. Doosan Bears
4. NC Dinos

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), Roberto Ramos (LG), Byungo Ho Park (KIW) or Kun Woo Park (DOO) and then roster some great spend-down plays like Shin Soo Choo (SSG and former Texas Ranger) at $3,000 who has a nice 3 game hit streak going, or Chang Ki Hong (LG), Ryon Healy (HAN) and Zoilo Almonte (KTW) — all have above-average point-per-dollar projections for Sunday morning.