KBO DFS – Fri May 8th

As we all continue to anxiously wait for MLB to return, we continue to have baseball in the form of the KBO, which I’ve actually enjoyed to be honest. The tricky aspect of our new-found DFS sport will continue to be lineup confirmation coming in the very early morning hours. With that said, here’s my view of the Friday, May 8th slate.

Today’s Games

Yellow Highlighted Team Is Favored

Pitchers

Tyler Wilson (LG Twins)

• We want pitchers that go deep and show damage control. Strikeout upside is a bonus, of course and Wilson has all of the above-mentioned traits. As long as Wilson doesn’t have a shortened pitch count (he was in quarantine for 14 days thus starting the season late), we can expect the righty to pitch deep.
• Last season in 30 starts Wilson tossed 185 innings with a 6.7 K/9. The season prior over 26 starts he posted a 7.9 K/9 over 170 innings. He’s kept the ball in the ballpark over his first two seasons in the KBO as well, thus, limiting damage.

Seung Ho Lee (Kiwoom Heros)

• 20-year-old Seung Ho Lee had some rocky outings early on last season but ended up tossing 14 quality tarts an allowed just one earned run over his final 18 innings of the year. While the K upside might not jump off the page here, consider that Lee is in a good spot as a favorite for a good offensive team it seems in the Heroes.

Drew Gagnon (KIA Tigers)

• Former Met “great” in the majors, Gagnon (was not actually great in the majors over his two seasons) is a 29-year-old who did have some success in the minor in the Mets’ organization.
• In 2019 at triple-A he held opponents to a .230 batting average in 15 starts spanning 88.2 innings with 107 strikeouts and 17 walks and had a WHIP of 1.07. The year prior at the triple-A level when the Mets’ affiliate was still playing in the Las Vegas (the PCL) where the ball flies and all of the stadiums are bandboxes, Gagnon’s numbers, although inflated considering the circumstances, were still respectable as far as peripherals go over 157.2 innings.
• At $7,800 for a pitcher, who’s team is favored, expect him to be somewhat popular but an arm to consider nonetheless.

Batting Targets

Doosan Bears

• The defending KBO champs facing an 18-year-old in his league debut seems like a good spot to start with bats on this slate. Doosan has scored 14 runs over there last two games while pounding out 14 hits in their last game.
• Jose Fernandez (1B/2B), Jae il Oh (1B), and Jae Hwan Kim (1B/OF) have all gotten off to good starts this season and are the projected 2, 3, and 4 hitters. Jae Ho Kim (SS) is a good value at $3,300, has five hits in his last nine at-bats, and was in the six-hole in the Bears’ last game.

Kiwoom Heroes

• I’ve been on the Heroes train quite heavily early on and it’s been both successful and gut-wrenching. Facing Min Jae Jang who has some strikeout upside but the propensity to get into trouble with traffic on the bases as last year he suffered from a 5.43 ERA in 22 starts and was able to toss just seven quality starts. Kiwoom was the best offense in the KBO last year by far and I expect them to start flexing their muscles much as they did in their first game when the recorded 11 runs.
• Byung Ho Park (1B), Ha Seong Kim (SS), and Keon Chang Seo (1B/2B) are three bats to start with Seo being a great value near the top of the order. Jung Ho Lee (OF) is another bat in the middle of the lineup, but consider that he’s not a big power-bat rather a high-average doubles guy with some speed. Definitely someone worthwhile in a stack as he’s the three-hitter for Kiwoom.

One-off Bats

C: Sang Ho Chung (NC Dinos)

1B: Dae Ho Lee (Lotte Giants)

2B: Min Hyeok Kim (KT Wiz)

3B: Jeong Choi (KT Wiz)

SS: Sun Bin Kim (KIA Tigers)

OF: Sung Bum Na (NC Dinos), Hyung Woo Choi (KIA Tigers)

Good Luck!!