Dream11 Fantasy KBO: Tigers at Lions

Kia Tigers (1-3) at Samsung Lions (1-3)

Saturday, May 8, 5:30 AM EDT

Projected starters

LHP Ki Hoon Kim (3-6, 5.56 ERA in 2019) vs RHP Tae In Won (0-0, 0.00 ERA in 2020)

Note: Korean names are transliterated differently by different sources. The spellings used here are those used by Dream11 in order to make it easier to assemble a lineup on that site.

Game Preview

The Tigers and the Lions each started the season with 1-3 records following their first four games, although Samsung have a slight edge following their 5-0 win during the series opener on Friday. Samsung have scored 10 runs while allowing 16 this season, but that run differential looks good when comparing it to Kia's -- opposing teams have already scored 24 runs against them (6.0 per game) and they have crossed home plate just 12 times, good for an average of three runs per contest so far. Tae In Won will be the pitcher in charge of carrying Samsung to a second straight win and while this will be his first start of the season, he already registers one relief appearance. The 20-year-old righty tossed a scoreless appearance in the season opener, and he will have a golden chance to earn his first win of the campaign against one of the weakest offenses in KBO play thus far. The Tigers will send Ki Young Im to the mound. This will be his first appearance of the season, although he is coming off a 2019 campaign where he posted a less-than-inspiring 5.73 ERA with a 1.77 WHIP.

Injuries

Neither team has injured players at the moment.

Kia Tigers Expected Lineup:

SP - Ki Young Im

1. Won Joon Choi

2. Sun Bin Kim

3. Preston Tucker

4. Hyoung Woo Choi

5. Young Seok Jang

6. Min Sang Yoo

7. Ji Wan Na

8. Seung Taek Han

9. Chan Ho Park

Samsung Lions Expected Lineup:

SP - Tae In Won

1. Hun Gon Kim

2. Ja Wook Koo

3. Tyler Saladino

4. Won-seok Lee

5. Woo Hyun Yang

6. Dong-Yub Kim

7. Min-Ho Kang

8. Hae Min Park

9. Seong Gyu Lee

Top picks:

Ji Wan Na, Tigers: Kia's designated hitter has just two hits in 12 at-bats for a paltry .166 average in his first three games of the season, but he is too good of a hitter to keep slumping for an extended period of time. He has hit at least 25 home runs in his last three full KBO seasons, from 2016 to 2018.

Preston Tucker, Tigers: Tucker went hitless in the series opener against the Lions on Friday, but he has been one of the top performers for the anemic Tigers offense to date. He is hitting .286 with one home run and an .875 OPS through the first four games of the season. Plus, he's a career .310 hitter at the KBO level after his stellar debut season in 2019.

Hae Min Park, Lions: Samsung's center fielder has hit safely in each of his last three games. Even though his average remains a paltry .200, he owns an impressive .533 slugging percentage since his three hits so far have been extra bases (two doubles, one home run). He could be extend his hitting streak to four games against a pitcher that delivered an uninspiring performance during the 2019 campaign.

Tae In Won, Lions: Ultimately, if the Lions want to clinch their second straight win, Won will have to pitch at a very high level in his first start of the 2020 KBO season. He threw a scoreless inning in relief during the season opener and will face one of the weakest lineups in the league thus far. The Tigers average just 3.0 runs per game to date.

Captaincy Options:

1. Ji Wan Na

2. Preston Tucker

3. Hae Min Park

Dream11 Team:

P Ki Young Im

C Kim Eung-min

IF Hyun Soo Kim

IF Min Sang Yoo

IF Ji Chan Kim

OF Preston Tucker (VC)

OF Na Ji-wan (C)

OF Hae Min Park

OF Seon Woo Oh     

Disclaimer: The views expressed here are of the author and is not a reflection of the actual points you might earn.