DFS KBO: Friday Cheat Sheet

Thursday's slate was full of unexpected results. The Eagles and Wyverns, whose offenses had been rather anemic, had two of the four highest scores of the day, though the Wyverns managed to lose yet again, falling to the Heroes, 9-8, in extra innings. Fantasy owners who stacked one of those teams likely had a good night, though the Eagles got seven of their 12 hits from the final three spots in their order, dodging the most likely stack combinations. If you stacked those three (Jae Hoon Choi, Si Hwan Noh and Yong Kyu Lee) and it worked out for you, I hope you also bought a lottery ticket. 

On the pitching side, the previously shaky Ki Young Im pitched an unexpected gem, throwing eight innings of one-run ball, while Min Ho Lee, who had all of four innings of KBO experience to his name, held the Lions to no runs in 5.1 innings in the league's best hitter's park. Friday's slate should be an interesting one, as we're at the point in teams' rotations where some have rolled over to their aces while others are trotting out backend starters. Whether that results in some predictable games or another day or strange results remains to be seen.

Pitchers

Hyun Jong Yang ($9,000 DraftKings, $27 FanDuel as "Kia Starting P") finished third in MVP voting last season thanks to his 2.29 ERA and 1.07 WHIP. His 4.80 ERA through three starts this season has been disappointing, but that's mostly been held back by a rough outing on Opening Day against the Heroes, as he's recorded quality starts in each of his last two opportunities. He'll have a good shot to make that three in a row against a Wyverns' offense that has been the league's worst this season.

The Dinos' Young Gyu Kim ($5,500 DraftKings, $23 FanDuel) is the cheapest option on DraftKings and is moderately priced on FanDuel. The 20-year-old doesn't have a track record, which suggests he should be particularly expensive, as he has a 5.00 ERA and a 1.62 WHIP in 77.1 career KBO innings. He's looked good through two starts this season, however, posting a 9:0 K:BB and a 3.27 ERA. The lefty is most interesting in this contest due to the fact that he gets to face an Eagles lineup that still ranks second last in scoring following a strong showing Thursday. He's also helped by the Dinos' strong lineup, which could help him to a win even against Eagles ace Warwick Saupold.

Odrisamer Despaigne ($8,300 DraftKings, $21 FanDuel as "KT Starting P") doesn't have the easiest matchup, as he's facing the fourth-ranked Twins lineup, but he looks close to matchup-proof through his first three KBO starts. He owns a 2.65 ERA and a 1.00 WHIP, striking out 26.5 percent of batters while walking just 2.9 percent. With the Wiz's league-leading lineup supporting him, he'll have a good chance at securing a win.

Top-Shelf Targets

Jose Fernandez ($6,400 DraftKings, $17 FanDuel) will be without teammate Jae Il Oh (side) and potentially without Jae Hwan Kim (foot) as well, but he still appears to be worth his high price if you can find room for him. Last year's hits leader leads the league in that category again with an incredible 27 in 14 games, powering him to a .458/.508/.661 slash line. He'll get the platoon advantage against Lions righty Ben Lively, who owns a fine but unremarkable 4.24 ERA through his first 12 KBO starts. More important, he'll get the chance to hit at the league's most hitter-friendly park, Daegu Samsung Lions Park.

Sung Bum Na ($4,800 DraftKings, $14 FanDuel) has stopped featuring quite so frequently in this column as his price has risen to a more reasonable level. He earns a spot Friday due to the fact that Eagles starter Warwick Saupold might scare people away from the Dinos' top hitters. Saupold's 1.64 ERA and 0.82 WHIP this season are both inarguably excellent, but he's struck out just 12.9 percent of batters, relying on a 3.5 percent walk rate and an unsustainable .217 BABIP. He allows plenty of contact, and contact is typically loud when it comes off Na's bat. The left-handed slugger has homered four times this season while hitting a solid .263/.373/.474.

Bargain Bats

The aforementioned Bears injuries do hurt their remaining players by weakening the team's lineup overall, but they also provide the opportunity for players like Joo Hwan Choi ($2,600 DraftKings, $11 FanDuel) to move up in the lineup. Choi hit cleanup Thursday and could do so again Friday. He's shown good power this season, hitting .256/.319/.558 with four doubles and three homers, and he'll be hitting in Daegu Samsung Lions Park, where balls fly out.

Hak Ju Lee ($3,400 DraftKings, $6 FanDuel) has been undeniably quite awful this season, though his .179/.303/.250 batting line comes in a small sample of just 34 plate appearances. His .262/.335/.369 line last season was more or less respectable, but he's listed here more for his context than his talent. He's settled into the fifth spot in the Lions' lineup and will get to hit at the team's very hitter-friendly park Friday. Opposing pitcher Yong Chan Lee has really struggled out of the gate this season, allowing 14 runs in 10 innings in his first two starts. Those factors make Lee worth a look as a relatively cheap option at a thin shortstop position on DraftKings and as a bottom-of-the-barrel option on FanDuel.

Stacks

Tigers vs. Joo Han Kim: Preston Tucker ($6,200 DraftKings, $16 FanDuel), Hyung Woo Choi ($5,400 DraftKings, $12 FanDuel), Sun Bin Kim ($4,200 DraftKings, $9 FanDuel)

The struggling Wyverns turn to Kim for his first start of the season and just his sixth of his KBO career. That career, which includes 148 innings spread over parts of five seasons, has been  unremarkable, as he's struggled to a 5.78 ERA and a 1.57 WHIP. He's combined a mediocre 16.3 percent strikeout rate with a 9.2 percent walk rate. The righty has allowed five runs in one inning  this season, leaving little reason to believe that he'll suddenly be a quality starter in this contest.

Tucker remains the highest-earning hitter on both sites after his incredible hot streak to open the campaign. He's driven in 20 runs through 15 games while hitting .429/.500/.821 with five homers. The outfielder is already more than halfway to last year's total of nine homers, a mark he reached in 95 games in his KBO debut. He's worth an inclusion nearly every day, if you have the budget room, and is worth carving out room for in this one against a weak righty.

Choi is a bit pricey on DraftKings, but he has the track record to justify that high number. His .263/.373/.439 slash line this season is more good than great, but he's managed seven straight seasons with an OPS higher than .900 and an average of 27.4 homers. He's an obvious choice at his moderate price on FanDuel, but his DraftKings price tag shouldn't scare you away with Kim on the mound.

Kim won't get the platoon advantage like Tucker and Choi will, but the Tigers' No. 2 hitter could be set up for a big day if his team puts up a big number in this contest. He's off to a strong start this season, hitting .321/.424/.393 with an excellent 10:11 BB:K. He's interesting on FanDuel for his very cheap price and on DraftKings for his coveted shortstop eligibility.

Heroes vs. Kyung Eun Noh: Jung Hoo Lee ($4,200 DraftKings, $14 FanDuel), Keon Chang Seo ($3,200 DraftKings, $11 FanDuel), Dong Won Park ($3,900 DraftKings, $8 FanDuel)

The 36-year-old Noh didn't pitch at all in the KBO last season, spending the year in the Australian Baseball League. It's somewhat surprising to see him return at his age, as he struggled to a 5.94 ERA over his last five seasons in Korea. He's had one strong and one weak performance through his first two starts this season, but his overall 4.91 ERA, 1.64 WHIP and 14.0 percent strikeout rate are far from intimidating.

Lee remains relatively modestly priced despite an excellent start to the season. The 21-year-old produced an OPS between .813 and .896 in his first three KBO campaigns, but his numbers through 15 games this year have been on another level. He's hitting .393/.460/.714 with three homers, already halfway to his career high. It's certainly believable that he's in the midst of a power breakout, as he's a young hitter who's always made great contact and had a great eye for the zone, walking more times (45) than he struck out (40) last season.

Leadoff man Seo has set the table well for the Heroes this season, hitting .310/.375/.483. Getting on base has always been what Seo does best, as his strong .375 on-base percentage is actually his lowest mark since 2013. He's been picking things up in recent games, recording four multi-hit games in a row. Seo has also chipped in with four steals, one shy of the league lead.

Park is one of the better offensive catchers in the league, hitting .326/.356/.628 with three homers and 11 RBIs through 14 games. That might be a higher level than we should expect from him going forward, but even if he regresses to last year's .297/.368/.445 line he'll still be a great use of a catcher slot on DraftKings, where quality options are hard to come by. His positional eligibility doesn't matter on FanDuel, but he's still potentially worth a look there due to his very cheap price tag.