KBO DFS: Previewing the slate for April 24

KBO on DraftKings is back! I will be covering the weekend slates this season and each KBO article will be FREE at 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 5 game slate for the Korean Baseball Organization (KBO) on Saturday morning April 24th, 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).

Starting pitcher rankings:

1. Tae Won In (SAM) – Last season, Tae Won In had a 12.4 K%, 1.55 WHIP and 4.88 ERA in 140 innings pitched. This season, he has a 36.2 K%, .83 WHIP, and 1.00 ERA through 18 innings. Regression will be coming, but Tae Won In in his current form is easily the best arm on this slate.
2. Ariel Miranda (DOO) – Pretty tough day for starting pitching options overall, so even in a tough matchup against the reigning KBO champion NC Dinos, Ariel Miranda checks in as a nice option in both cash and tournaments on Saturday morning. While I am still checking out some MLB and KBO highlights to figure out Miranda’s season projections, check out the MLB career comparison between him and MLB dud turned KBO ace Dan Straily:

MLB career stats

3. Young Pyo Ko (KT) – Ko had a 21.6 K% in his last full season in the KBO (2018). He’s got 17 strikeouts in three starts this season (23.9 K%) and is facing the Lotte Giants, who strike out just under the league average of 18.5%. I wrote him up last week, and he racked up 20.5 DK points for nearly 3x return on his salary. Not excited about the $500 salary increase, but on a night starved for pitching cheaper options, he can be an alternative SP#2 in all formats.

Other cash options: Wilmer Font (SSG)

Tournament Option: Dong Yeon Kang (NCD) – This is truly a tournament-only option as Kang, who started the season in the bullpen and made a spot start last week, could go only 2-3 innings. I do like what we’ve seen so far in 2021 though. Through 8.1 IP this season, he has 8 strikeouts and a .084 WHIP. His career K/9 is nothing to be too high on (only 6.75 K/9 in 37.1 IP) and the salary increase from $4,000 to $7,100 this week is tough to swallow, but the ownership should be minimal facing off against the explosive Doosan Bears. If he is 5% owned and can stretch it out through 5 or 6 innings, he could provide some nice leverage if either Miranda or Tae Won In falter. If I play five lineups, he will only be in one of them.

Team hitting stack rankings

1. LG Twins
2. SSG Landers
3. Lotte Giants
4. Doosan Bears
5. Hanwha Eagles

Tournament Stack: I was super high on the Kiwoom Heros to start the season and I do think they will bounce back even though they are currently last in the KBO in the standings. Wilmer Font, starting pitcher for SSG Landers, will probably have some ownership on this slate, so I really like a Kiwoom stack as leverage against a chalk pitcher. Start with Kiwoom first baseman Byung Ho Park and shortstop Hye Sung Kim and build from there.

OPS leaders (Min. 25 at-bats)