John Ferguson | Fri, Jun 12th 2020, 12:19pm EDT

DraftKings Korean Baseball (KBO) DFS Value Plays: Saturday 6/13

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Welcome to this week’s edition of our Korean Baseball (KBO) DFS Value Plays. While more sports continue to return stateside with PGA, UFC, and NASCAR all back in action, we are still waiting for the MLB and its players to figure out exactly what is going on with the 2020 season. Until then, the KBO will continue to give us an entertaining version of the sport to wager on.

Putting together lineups for the KBO is no different than putting together your standard MLB DFS lineup aside from the fact that you may not know who any of these players are. Numbers don’t lie though and you can still analyze these players the same as you would for typical MLB DFS. To build your roster select 2 P’s, 3 OF’s, and one of each of the following positions: C, 1B, 2B, SS, and 3B while staying under the $50,000 salary cap.

There are some solid resources out there to help you build these lineups. The best I have found so far that I have really enjoyed is the free KBO lineup building model over at Occupy Fantasy. These guys have done a solid job of giving you a thorough, yet, user-friendly model that incorporates some key statistics you would want to know for setting your lineups at both DK and FD, including things like park factors and team totals from betting lines which are two of my favorite things to look at for this process. KBO DFS (@DfsKbo) has also been a sharp follow on Twitter and both MyKBO Stats and KBO Fancy Stats are a must for deep diving. Rotowire has also been a top player in KBO DFS coverage and even recently created a KBO-specific Twitter handle that is a key follow.

Let’s get to the picks for Saturday’s main slate. Weather will be something to keep an eye on before lineups lock for today as the KT Wiz vs. Samsung Lions game was rained out on Friday.

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Pitcher

David Buchanan (SAM) vs. KTW: $8,200
It’s not every day that you’re able to fade the most expensive options at pitcher in KBO DFS, but we have a couple of good options today price outside the top three. David Buchanan has been pretty spectacular over his last three starts earning a win in each game and allowing just one earned run over that span. He’s struck out 13 over that span as well while walking five and allowing just one home run. His season as a whole has been mostly terrific with the exception of his 10 earned-run performance last month against LG. The Lions haven’t offered a ton of run support ranking second-worst in the league so far for the month of June, but they have been able to keep games close with just a -1 run differential this month. Buchanan also gets a great matchup against a KT Wiz team that has lost seven of their last 10 games.

Hui-kwan Yu (DOO) at HAN: $7,700
Yu will likely be super chalky in this matchup against a Hanwha Eagles team that has lost 18-straight, but as we’ve seen with pitching in KBO DFS, you kind of have to go with the chalk most times here. Yu is priced at an incredibly friendly $7,700 as one of the most friendly-priced starters which is also hard to pass up on given the matchup. He hasn’t been a fantasy stud by any means over his last two outings scoring below double-digits with just two Ks during that span, but he has a ceiling here similar to the 23 points he put up against SK three starts ago. He’s an easy player to lock-in.

Catcher

Dong-won Park (KIW) at NCD: $4,700
At the catcher position, you don’t really save a ton of money when you start looking at options priced below Park. With this being such a weak-hitting position as a whole as well, it makes value plays even more volatile than most positions. Park still gets you $1,300 below the top option, Eui-ji Yang at $6k. Park hasn’t been exceptionally hot over his last three games with just one hit and one run over that span, but he did have one of his best games of the season against this very same Dinos team just two weeks ago. He went 3-for-4 with a home run, double, two RBI, and a run on his way to 26 fantasy points. He also ranks top-three in hard-hit rate this season per Sports Info Solutions. Since we are saving money on pitchers today, this is a great opportunity to just pay up for Eui-ji Yang at catcher since his upside is unrivaled at the position, but if you’re looking for ways to save money, Park is a decent pivot.

First Base

Jin-sung Kang (NCD) vs. KIW: $4,100
Kang has been one of the best players on the league-leading Dinos team and continues to be a decent value in DFS. His 215.3 wRC+ and 1.313 OPS are the best in the league while his 1.85 WAR and .363 ISO are second-best amongst hitters. He’s tied for fifth place in the league with eight HRs this season and his 1.07 RBI/G ranks best in the league. Getting Kang over $2k cheaper than the top option Jose Fernandez is a great deal. Kang is also eligible as an outfielder if you have multiple options you like here.

Second Base

Seon-woo Oh (KIA) at SK: $2,600
Seon-woo Oh has stepped in as DH twice and RF once in the last three games but remains eligible as a 2B/3B option on DK. This is life in KBO DFS. Oh has been sensational in his first three games this season, however, with home runs in back-to-back games. He also went 2-for-3 Friday against SK with two runs and two RBI. A hot bat like this will always find a place in a lineup and the matchup remains great against a Wyverns team that has dropped three in a row and won just 11 games all season.

Third Base

Ji-hyuk Ryu (KIA) at SK: $2,100
We’ll double-up on Tigers for the infield here as Ryu is another player they offer in the $2k range who could be ready to exploit a decent matchup. Ryu gets the perk of being a lefty vs. righty starter Seung-won Moon who comes into this game with a 4.68 ERA and a 1-2 record. Moon has been kind of hot and cold this season. He has racked up 15 Ks over his last two starts but has also allowed four earned runs in half or his games this season so he’s nothing to be completely afraid of from a matchup standpoint. Ryu has also been a steady bat as of late reaching base successfully in four of his last five games and scoring no fewer than five fantasy points during that span. Even in the game that he didn’t get on base he still recorded an RBI. He should outperform his price point easily at a position that has been ravaged by injuries as of late.

Shortstop

Jae-ho Kim (DOO) at HAN: $2,600
We’ll keep the sub-$3k values rolling here by exploiting the matchup the Bears have against the helpless Eagles. Kim has been a boom/bust option recently with fantasy performances of 10, 0, 24, 0, and 15 points over his last five games, respectively. He went 2-for-3 in the first game of this series against Hanwha with a double, walk, and a stolen base. Despite his up and down performances, he has averaged 7.1 PPG this season which ranks sixth at the position. This is a great value considering his salary ranks 15th.

Outfield

Ja-wook Koo (SAM) vs. KTW: $4,800
Koo has eased back into action after being placed on the 10-day IL earlier this season. He hasn’t really missed a beat at the plate securing multiple hits in two of his last three games and knocked his first homer since returning to action on Friday. He was one of the better hitting outfielders in the league before getting hurt as well logging multiple hits in five of his last eight games before the injury. The Lions get a plus matchup for this slate against KT Wiz starter Odrisamer Despaigne who has struggled to the tune of 14 earned runs over his last two starts combined.

Kun-woo Park (DOO) at HAN: $3,600
You could probably build an entire lineup of nothing but Doosan Bears and cash out against the Eagles. They’re that bad. But Park has also been great as of late regardless of the matchup. He’s managed double-digit fantasy points in four of his last five games and unsurprisingly had one of his best games of the season against Hanwha on Friday putting up 24 points. He was just missing a triple to hit for the cycle. Park has also managed to rack up three hits in three of his last four games and reached base successfully in his last 11 games. He gives a safe floor and tons of upside given the matchup.

Ho-ryung Kim (KIA) at SK: $3,500
The picks are heavy on KIA Tigers today but the value is just too good to pass up for a lot of these guys. Kim is no different as his 11.8 PPG this season is tied for second-most in the league with slugger Mel Rojas Jr. Kim has scored at least eight fantasy points in nine of his 10 games played this season and reached double-digits seven times. He is carrying a .400 BA and 1.246 OPS into a game I really like KIA to win.