This article is part of our DraftKings KBO series.
Baseball is back! While we wait for some semblance of normalcy to return in America, the KBO in South Korea has opened its doors, becoming the second baseball league to do so after Taiwan's CPBL began its season in mid-April. While the Aarons in the KBO may be named Altherr and not Judge, this is a legitimately high-level baseball league (considered to be roughly equivalent to Triple-A ball). The KBO is the place that launched the careers of Korean stars like Hyun-Jin Ryu and the place where struggling Americans such as Eric Thames have gone to get back on track before returning to conquer the MLB. There will undoubtedly be major-league talent to be seen on Opening Day, which begins at 1:00 a.m. EDT on Tuesday morning. Best of all, for readers who frequent these pages, there will also be daily fantasy contests on both DraftKings and FanDuel. We'll be covering those contests here, starting with today's breakdown of the Opening Day slate.
PITCHERS
Note: FanDuel is using Team Starting Pitchers rather than individual starting pitchers, presumably to guard against last-minute changes which would occur at hours of the night when most Americans won't be checking their fantasy lineups.
Jake Brigham's ($9,300 DraftKings, $25 FanDuel as "Kiwoon Starting P") Heroes have their work cut out for them in a battle against Tigers ace Hyun Jong Yang ($10,000 DraftKings, $22 FanDuel as "Kia Starting P"), a matchup that features the two most expensive pitchers on the slate on DraftKings. While Yang's excellent 2.29 ERA and 1.07 WHIP last season beat Brigham's still-strong 2.96 ERA and 1.23 WHIP, Brigham may be the better pick in this instance. Yang faces a Heroes offense that led the league with 5.42 runs per game last season, while Brigham faces a Tigers lineup that finished second-last with just 4.20. Yang is worth stronger consideration on FanDuel, where his cheap price makes him worth the risk that comes with facing a much tougher lineup.
Odrisamer Despaigne ($7,600 DraftKings, $20 FanDuel as "KT Starting P") hung around the fringes of the MLB for parts of six seasons, struggling to a 5.11 ERA, a number which hid a respectable 4.45 FIP. While he doesn't strike out many batters (he posted a career 14.0 percent strikeout rate in the big leagues), he'll have a good shot at a win and a low ERA against a Giants team that finished last in the league with just 4.01 runs per game in 2019.
Drew Rucinski ($9,100 DraftKings, $25 FanDuel as "NC Starting P") faces a weak Eagles offense that finished third-last in runs scored last season, averaging 4.22 per game. After posting a 5.33 ERA in 54 MLB innings split across parts of four seasons, he went to Korea last season and was excellent in 30 starts for the Dinos, recording a 3.05 ERA and a 1.18 WHIP.
TOP TARGETS
Baek-Ho Kang ($5,500 DraftKings, $12 FanDuel) won the KBO Rookie of the Year award in his age-18 season in 2018 and followed it up with a .336/.416/.495 slash line as a sophomore. The left-handed outfielder will enjoy the platoon advantage against Giants righty Dan Straily, who stumbled to a 9.82 ERA in 47.2 innings for the Orioles last season before heading overseas.
Aaron Altherr ($5,200 DraftKings, $13 FanDuel) fits the profile of a player who could find success in the KBO. He showed promise at times during his six-year MLB career, most notably hitting a strong .272/.340/.516 back in 2017, but he didn't make quite enough contact overall, posting a career .219/.308/.402 slash line before heading overseas. He could be a star against a lower quality of pitching such as Lions starter Jung Hyun Baek, who recorded a mediocre 4.24 ERA and a 12.1 percent strikeout rate last season.
VALUE PLAYS
Jae Ho Kim ($3,000 DraftKings, $8 FanDuel) is by no means a star, having hit a modest .268/.379/.358 last season. What he is, however, is a cheap way to buy into the defending champion Bears' lineup, a unit which is facing unimposing Twins starter Woo-Chan Cha, who posted a 4.12 ERA and a 1.43 WHIP last season.
Sung Bum Na ($3,000 DraftKings, $7 FanDuel) comes at a very cheap price for a player of his talent. The Dinos outfielder has a .316/.383/.534 slash line in his seven-year KBO career, and he regularly hit second or third during his team's preseason contests. While he won't get the platoon advantage against Lions lefty Jung Hyun Baek, the Dinos' offense, which ranked third-last season with 4.68 runs per game, could knock Baek out of the game early.
STACKS TO CONSIDER
Whiz vs. Dan Straily (Giants): Mel Rojas Jr. ($5,300 DraftKings, $16 FanDuel), Baek-Ho Kang ($5,500 DraftKings, $12 FanDuel), Min-Hyeok Kim ($3,600 DraftKings, $11 FanDuel)
Not many players come to the KBO with as much MLB experience as Straily. The 31-year-old spent eight seasons in the majors, amassing a 44-40 record and 4.56 ERA. It's hard to overstate just how bad Straily was last season, however. It takes a lot to get cut by the Orioles, but Straily earned that ignominious distinction after posting a 9.82 ERA, 9.34 FIP and 14.0-percent strikeout rate in 47.2 innings. His last season with a FIP below 4.50 came all the way back in 2013.
You'll have to pay up to get Rojas Jr., who's the fifth-most expensive hitter on DraftKings and is tied for the most expensive on FanDuel, but he should be well-worth the price. The left-handed batter topped out at the Triple-A level in the United States but has since gone on to crush the ball in Korea, recording a .310/.377/.561 slash line across three seasons. He finished in the top five in homers in both 2018 and 2019.
The aforementioned Kang should be worth the price as well if Straily's struggles continue overseas. The young phenom saw his OPS rise from .879 in 2018 to .911 in 2019 even as the de-juiced ball sent the league's overall OPS crashing from .803 all the way down to .722. Still just 20 years old, big things should be in store for Kang in his third KBO season.
Kim is a lesser talent than his teammates mentioned above, but as another lefty bat who should hit near the top of the order against a shaky right-handed starter, he could be a bargain. A pure contact hitter, Kim didn't hit a single home run last season but managed a .281 batting average while chipping in with 22 steals. He could get plenty of opportunities to run and score against Straily.
Dinos vs. Jung Hyun Baek (Lions): Aaron Altherr ($5,200 DraftKings, $13 FanDuel), Suk Min Park ($4,500 DraftKings, $11 FanDuel), Sung Bum Na ($3,000 DraftKings, $7 FanDuel)
The 32-year-old lefty Baek is one of the least imposing pitchers on the Opening Day slate. Baek's 4.24 ERA last season was worse than league average (4.17), and his 12.1 percent strikeout rate certainly won't scare opposing hitters. He could be in for a rough day against the defending champions.
Altherr, who couldn't quite cut it as an MLB player, could feast against the weaker pitching staffs of the KBO. He'll get the platoon advantage with a southpaw on the mound and has been batting anywhere from second to fifth in the Dinos' preseason lineups.
Park is another right-handed bat who should hit in the heart of the Dinos' lineup. Even with league-wide offense cratering last season, the veteran third baseman saw his OPS jump from .816 to .871. He makes for a strong mid-priced option against one of the weaker starters on the slate.
Na missed most of last season due to a knee injury but has been available this preseason, batting second or third as the team's designated hitter. While he won't have the platoon advantage in this game, he's far too cheap for a player of his quality. He recorded a batting average of at least .309 while hitting at least 22 homers in each of the five years prior to his knee injury and hit an incredible .366/.443/.645 in 23 games before getting hurt last season. Given his near-minimum price, Na figures to be one of the highest-owned players on the slate.
