DFS KBO: Friday Cheat Sheet

Thursday's KBO slate was reduced to four games when the Dinos and Tigers were rained out, but that contest did appear threatened for most of the day, so hopefully most fantasy players were able to avoid it. With the Dinos not playing, the Twins were able to move within a game and a half of the league lead thanks to a 9-7 win over the Eagles. Roberto Ramos did indeed return from the injured list as expected, though he wasn't able to do anything other than walk three times. Elsewhere, the young and previously unimpressive Seung Ho Lee was able to stick with the Giants' Dan Straily in a pitchers' duel that wound up in a 10th-inning 3-2 win for the Heroes. Meanwhile, the Bears broke their four-game losing streak by beating the Lions 7-3, helped by seven solid innings from Hui Kwan Yu. Friday's slate, thankfully, appears to be free of rain. Thursday's rain pushed a pair of top-tier starting pitchers back to Friday, making for a top-heavy group of arms.

Pitchers

Chang Mo Koo's ($9,400 DraftKings, $26 FanDuel as "NC Starting P") FanDuel price is one of the strangest price tags of the season. It's unfortunately so out of line with his production and matchup that there's little reason to look elsewhere except for differentiating yourself from the crowd, though intentionally turning down this kind of value may be hard to stomach. Koo was already looking like a great play as a more expensive option against the Tigers on Thursday, but getting his start pushed back to Friday against the anemic Eagles, who sit last in scoring by some margin as they do with most stats this season, makes him potentially the best value of the year. He should still be a great value as the most expensive arm on DraftKings, as his dominance is one of the only things which can match the Eagles' ineptitude this season. He's allowed just four total earned runs through seven starts this campaign, combining a league-leading 30.1 percent strikeout rate with a 6.4 percent walk rate.

Like Koo, Drew Gagnon ($7,800 DraftKings, $26 FanDuel as "Kia Starting P") also saw his start pushed back by rain and now gets to face a much easier opponent, trading in the Dinos' league-leading lineup for the Lions' seventh-ranked group. Gagnon's strong 3.57 ERA seems to understate how well he's pitched this season, as his underlying numbers are nearly as good as Koo's. He's striking out 27.4 percent of opposing batters while walking just 5.5 percent, helping him on his way to a 1.07 WHIP. If he keeps throwing the way he's been throwing while his low 60.5 percent strand rate regresses, he could finish the year with an ERA below 3.00.

On the opposite side of that same contest, David Buchanan ($7,600 DraftKings, $27 FanDuel as "Samsung Starting P") is very much worth a look against the sixth-ranked Tigers lineup. After a pair of poor outings in his first three starts in Korea, Buchanan has settled down and thrived, allowing a total of just three runs over his last four starts. His 3.63 ERA and 1.12 WHIP may slightly overstate his season-long performance, as it's taken a .244 BABIP and a 79.0 percent strand rate to get him to those marks. His upside is also somewhat capped by his unimpressive 14.8 percent strikeout rate. Still, it's hard to argue with what he's done lately, and he'll have a good chance to match Gagnon inning-for-inning in a pitcher's duel Friday.

Top Targets

Baek Ho Kang ($5,900 DraftKings, $16 FanDuel) went hitless in his first two games back from a wrist injury last week, but he's since gone on to grab at least one hit in seven straight games, hitting .433 over that stretch. He's added three more homers, bringing his season total to eight. That's good for a tie for sixth in the league, an impressive spot given that every other hitter with at least seven homers this season has appeared in at least 33 games, while he's played in just 23. He'll have a good shot to add to that total against Giants righty Se Woong Park, who's already allowed six homers already this season while posting a 5.91 ERA.

Kang's teammate Mel Rojas ($5,500 DraftKings, $16 FanDuel) is equally interesting against the struggling Park. His riding a seven-game hitting streak, a stretch in which he's hit .387 with three homers, seven runs and eight RBI. He's now tied for the league lead in both RBI (37) and runs (32) while sitting second in homers (12). It remains odd that he's stuck in the number five spot since Kang's return, but he's clearly been able to produce at an excellent rate no matter where he sits in the order.

Bargain Bats

Hee Dong Kwon ($2,600 DraftKings, $7 FanDuel) couldn't quite fit into the Dinos stack listed below, as he typically bats lower in the order. He does occasionally move up to second against lefties, though, so he'll be quite interesting against southpaw Bum Soo Kim in this game if that happens. He's shown enough this season to merit consideration as a budget option regardless of where he hits, though, hitting an impressive .337/.443/.528. It's taken an unsustainable .406 BABIP to get him to that point, but that's factored into his price.

Kun Woo Park ($3,400 DraftKings, $12 FanDuel) has firmly re-established himself at the top of the Bears' order following a slow start. After hitting a very poor .190/.286/.304 through his first 22 games this year, he's bounced back to hit a remarkable .456/.508/.614 over his last 15 contests, grabbing at least one hit in each of his starts over that stretch. He left games both Tuesday and Wednesday this week with thigh issues, but he returned to start the next game both times, going 4-for-9 with two walks over the course of the three-game series against the Lions. He'll be the rare Bear in a lefty-heavy lineup to get the platoon advantage against Twins southpaw Woo Chan Cha, whose 4.05 ERA is respectable but comes with an unsustainable 80.3 percent strand rate and generally mediocre peripherals.

Stacks To Consider

Dinos vs. Bum Soo Kim: Eui Ji Yang ($6,100 DraftKings, $14 FanDuel), Jin Sung Kang ($4,500 DraftKings, $15 FanDuel), Aaron Altherr ($5,200 DraftKings, $16 FanDuel)

The Dinos may be struggling for the first time this season, losing five of their last seven games, and the Eagles may have finally broken their record-tying losing streak, but that doesn't change the fact that this series still pits the season's clear best team against the clear worst. The left-handed Kim looks like he'll be rather overmatched against a Dinos lineup which has scored a league-leading 6.84 runs per game this season. His 4.34 ERA in 18.2 innings of relief this season is a fine mark but isn't anywhere close to being backed up by his 1.71 WHIP or 17:16 K:BB. His career numbers don't provide any more reason for optimism, as he's recorded a 6.22 ERA and a 1.80 WHIP over his six seasons in the KBO.

A lefty on the mound for the Eagles means we'll want to turn to the Dinos' right-handed bats here. Cleanup hitter Yang leads this stack. The veteran is the most expensive hitter on DraftKings, but he gets a big boost on that site from his catcher eligibility. His .294/.368/.560 season slash line would be strong at any position, let alone catcher, though there's reason to believe it could rise over the rest of the season, as he's finished with an OPS north of 1.000 in each of the last two campaigns. His BABIP has fallen to .271 after coming in above .350 each of the last two years, so his numbers could look even more elite once more of his hits start to fall.

Breakout star Kang has settled into the fifth spot in the order after a remarkable start to the year. He's technically slowed down in June after posting a ridiculous .474/.522/.825 slash line in June, though it's not as though there's anything to complain about with his .400/.455/.720 line this month. Kang's .443 BABIP on the season certainly isn't sustainable, but he has a very long way to fall while still being one of the better hitters in the league, quite a surprise for a player who looked firmly like a bench bat prior to this year.

Altherr remains typically stuck in the bottom third of the Dinos' order (though he did jump all the way up to cleanup on Yang's off day Wednesday), making him typically tough to recommend at his high price. The matchup in this game is enough for me to take the plunge, though, as it's becoming increasingly hard to ignore his performance. After battling a nagging hand injury early in the season and struggling to a .606 OPS in his first 13 games, he's since come alive in a big way, hitting .349/.426/.711 over his last 24 contests. The fact that he sits third in the league with 36 RBI this season despite his lineup position is a testament to his talent and the depth of this Dinos group.

Twins vs. Young Ha Lee: Roberto Ramos ($5,000 DraftKings, $17 FanDuel), Hyun Soo Kim ($5,200 DraftKings, $14 FanDuel), Ji Hwan Oh ($3,000 DraftKings, $9 FanDuel)

The defending-champion Bears' pitching staff has been rather disappointing this season, allowing the third-most runs per game. Lee has been a significant part of that. After cruising to a 3.64 ERA and a 1.28 WHIP in his age-21 season last year, he hasn't looked like the same pitcher this season, posting a 5.22 ERA and a 1.79 WHIP. There's been some bad luck affecting his performance, as his .346 BABIP and 62.8 percent strand rate will likely regress, but it's not as if he's been pitching well. He's never been much of a strikeout arm and is striking out just 14.3 percent of batters this season, quite a poor number when combined with his 12.2 percent walk rate.

Ramos may not have grabbed a hit in his return from ankle and back injuries Thursday, though he did reach base three times, all thanks to walks. That could be a common theme going forward, as pitchers won't want to give the league's home run leader anything to hit. If Ramos does get a pitch to hit in this game, though, there are few better bets in the league to do damage with that pitch than he is, as he's second only to the aforementioned Jin Sung Kang among qualified hitters a .763 slugging percentage. If Lee continues to struggle as he has for most of this season, Ramos should have plenty of chances to drive his teammates in Friday.

Kim didn't manage a single homer between Opening Day and June 7, but his power has started to come alive over his last 10 games, as he's homered three times over that stretch. He homered Thursday as part of a three-hit day, his third multi-hit game in his last four contests. Unsurprisingly given his .361 batting average, the veteran outfielder is nearly as likely as not to record multiple hits, as he's done so 17 times in 38 games this season. He should have a good shot to make that 18 in 39 against Lee.

Oh held onto the second spot in the order Thursday even with Ramos' return, making him quite a strong cheap option assuming he sticks there again in this one. He took advantage of that lineup spot Thursday to score three runs after reaching base three times on a single, a walk and a hit by pitch. He now owns a .500 on-base percentage over his last five contests and should have a shot to keep that number high against Lee, who has a significant walk problem.