DFS KBO: Friday Cheat Sheet

Perhaps the most significant thing to happen Thursday in the KBO took place in a contest that wasn't part of the main slate on DraftKings or FanDuel, as the great Chang Mo Koo finally had a bad start, giving up four runs in four innings in the second game of a double-header against the Wiz, a contest the Wiz would eventually win by a score of 19-6. The outing raised the young lefty's ERA to a still-outstanding 1.37. The Dinos did win the first game of the twin bill, but their lead is now just three games, with the surging Heroes now sitting in second after they completed the sweep against the Twins, giving them their eighth straight win and giving the Twins their sixth straight loss. Elsewhere, the Bears scored nine runs off Jong Hoon Park in the first game of their doubleheader against the Wyverns, winning that game 14-6, though they would go on to drop the nightcap by a score of 7-0 to remain in third place. Meanwhile, the inconsistent David Buchanan was lit up by the Eagles, who scored eight runs off him on 12 innings in six innings of work, while the Tigers and Giants saw both halves of their doubleheader washed away by yet more rain. That wild day should be followed by a fairly standard one Friday, as we'll have just five games being played, and all five appear to be safe from inclement weather.

Pitchers

A second straight night of rain in Busan means I get to write about Dan Straily ($9,500 DraftKings, $24 FanDuel as "Lotte Starting P") for the third straight day. As was the case ahead of Thursday's slate, FanDuel seems to have locked in prices a day in advance, so "Lotte Starting P" is priced as if a much lesser pitcher were filling the role. "A much lesser pitcher" describes just about everyone not named Dan Straily, as the veteran righty has looked excellent in his first nine KBO starts, posting a 2.10 ERA and a 1.01 WHIP, backed up by a 28.4 percent strikeout rate. Minimal support from the Giants' offense means he somehow has just one win despite those numbers, but he'll have a chance to double his season total against a mediocre Lions team.

Drew Gagnon ($7,900 DraftKings, $27 FanDuel as "Kia Starting P") faces the tough task of shutting down the streaking Heroes, winners of eight in a row, though that hot streak has been more due to their pitching than their hitting, as they've beaten their opponents by an average score of 5.8 to 2.6 over that stretch. Gagnon has the talent to shut any lineup down, though, even the Heroes' third-ranked unit. He's been better than his solid 3.94 ERA suggests, as he's paired a 25.8 percent strikeout rate (third among qualified starters) with a 6.8 percent walk rate. He's a steal at his surprisingly cheap DraftKings price and is worth consideration as an expensive option on FanDuel even with a tough matchup.

Casey Kelly ($9,000 DraftKings, $25 FanDuel as "LG Starting P") has been a disappointment this season, as his ERA has risen from 2.55 in his KBO debut to 5.00 through his first eight starts this year. That figure paints him in something of an unfair light, though, as his 18.3 percent strikeout rate and 6.3 percent walk rate are both better than league average. He's had a bit of bad luck, as seen in his .333 BABIP and 65.1 percent strand rate. The righty is worth a look even at his inflated DraftKings price, as he's facing the ninth-ranked Wyverns' offense.

Top Targets

Eagles righty Warwick Saupold is a solid enough pitcher, posting a 3.39 ERA despite a 13.8 percent strikeout rate, but he's be no means intimidating enough to keep you from using Mel Rojas ($5,700 DraftKings, $17 FanDuel), who's been on a tear recently. With three homers in his last six games, six in his last 13 and 11 in his last 22, he now leads the league with 15 bombs. Paired with his incredible .384/.430/.718 slash line, he has as good a case as anybody for MVP right now.

Jae Hwan Kim ($5,000 DraftKings, $17 FanDuel) earns a mention here for the second straight day, as he's been on fire over his last seven games, hitting .481/.611/.778 over that stretch. It's been an odd season for Kim, who tore out of the gate with a .419/.500/.871 slash line in his first eight contests before hitting a miserable .175/.256/.291 over his next 27 games. Kim is certainly capable of extended runs like the one he's on currently, though, as the 2018 MVP hit .325 or better with an average of 38.7 homers from 2016 to 2018 before a down season last year. He's a great bet to continue his hot streak against Dinos right Jae Hak Lee, who's struggled to a 5.58 ERA this season.

Bargain Bats

Sticking with the Bears, Joo Hwan Choi ($2,600 DraftKings, $11 FanDuel) hit second in both halves of Thursday's doubleheader, even with Jae Il Oh returning from a side injury for the nightcap. He's far too cheap for a player who occupies that role in one of the league's best lineups against an unreliable opposing starter. Choi has been quite hot over his last eight games, hitting .394/.459/.697 with a pair of homers, nine runs and 10 RBI. His .283/.351/.526 season slash line doesn't seem a fluke, as his .278 BABIP suggests that he's underachieved, if anything.

I'm still far from willing to recommend a full Eagles stack, though it's worth noting that they've scored a respectable 4.9 runs per game over their last seven contests. If I wasn't afraid to stack Eagles, this would be the time to do it, as they'll face 18-year-old righty Hyeong Jun So, who owns a 6.02 ERA and a 10.5 percent strikeout rate through his first eight KBO starts. If you include just one Eagle, Tae Kyun Kim ($3,600 DraftKings, $7 FanDuel) is the name to know. While his .242/.349/.385 season line is quite poor, the 38-year-old has quite the career resume, as he owns a lifetime .322 batting average with 311 homers, good for a share of 10th place all time in the KBO. He also has a strong recent past, as he's rebounded from an awful start to hit .308/.419/.481 over his last 15 games.

Stacks To Consider

Twins vs. Geon Wook Lee: Roberto Ramos ($5,600 DraftKings, $17 FanDuel), Hyun Soo Kim ($5,400 DraftKings, $15 FanDuel), Chun Woong Lee ($3,300 DraftKings, $9 FanDuel)

A week ago today, the Twins had won seven of their last eight games and were sitting just a game and a half out of first place. They haven't won since. To be fair, they did face a pair of tough opponents in the Bears and Heroes, but a true contender should be putting up a fight even against good teams. In any case, a three-game set against the lowly Wyverns should certainly help them get back on track, and kicking off the series against Lee should kickstart their sputtering bats. Lee's 3.42 ERA in five starts and two relief appearances this season is quite respectable, but it's come with a 13.4 percent walk rate and a modest 17.0 percent strikeout rate. The 25-year-old has essentially no KBO track record to speak of, as he'd thrown just two innings in the league prior to this year.

Ramos leads the way for this stack with an unreliably righty on the mound for the Wyverns. The slugger has lost his place atop the home run leaderboard, as he hasn't homered in two full weeks, allowing Mel Rojas to move ahead of him. Part of that drought was due to a five-game absence with ankle and back issues, but he hasn't homered in any of his seven games since returning from the injured list. That's not to say he's been terrible, however, as he has seven hits in his last five games, so there's little reason to treat him as if he's still injured.

Kim doesn't clear the fence often, going deep just four times this season and just 11 times last year, but he does just about everything else right at the plate. Through 44 games, he's hitting .348/.395/.519. He has plenty of gap power, as his 17 doubles are good for second in the league; he finished third in that category with 37 last season. He'll slot in right in front of Ramos in the third spot in the order, making for one of the best one-two punches in the entire league.

Leadoff man Lee isn't nearly as much of a threat as Ramos and Kim, but he helps keep this stack affordable. His .273/.344/.333 season slash line is rather unimpressive, but he's picked things up lately, hitting .324/.419/.351 over his last 10 games. He provides minimal power, hitting exactly two homers in each of the last three seasons, but he has decent speed to go along with solid on-base ability, stealing five bases this season after swiping 21 bags last year. It's a decent enough package for an affordable price, especially as Lee will get the platoon advantage in a prime lineup position against a shaky starter.

Tigers vs. Young Gun Jo: Preston Tucker ($5,800 DraftKings, $17 FanDuel), Hyung Woo Choi ($4,800 DraftKings, $11 FanDuel), Min Sang Yoo ($3,400 DraftKings, $7 FanDuel)

Jo hasn't been used as a true starter in his four starts this season, throwing an average of 67 pitches and just 3.6 innings. He hasn't had terrible results, as his 4.70 ERA is at least passable, but his underlying numbers suggest major regression is coming for the 21-year-old righty. His 1.89 ERA is quite poor, and he's struck out just 9.7 percent of opposing batters while walking 12.5 percent. The Tigers might not get the chance to tee off on him for long in this one, though getting to the bullpen early against a unit which had to throw eight innings in Thursday's doubleheader doesn't sound like much of a downside.

An unreliable righty on the mound for the Heroes means it's time to pay up for Preston Tucker. The outfielder hasn't had a hit since last Saturday, as he went hitless in a pair of games before seeing his next two games rained out. That brief hitless stretch ended a 10-game run which rivaled his early-season dominance, as he hit .472/.568/.833 with three homers in those contests. Tucker has seemed fairly streaky in his first full KBO season, but a game against Jo seems like prime time to start a new hot streak.

36-year-old Choi follows Tucker out of the cleanup spot and is a very capable second fiddle for the Tigers. Through 41 games, he owns a strong .312/.418/.504 slash line, right in line with his .300/.413/.485 mark from last season. His walk rate (15.3 percent) is higher than his strikeout rate (12.4 percent) for the third time in four years. While he no longer has elite power, his homer Tuesday was his seventh of the year and the 309th of his 16-year career, good for 12th in KBO history.

The Tigers' offense ranks a modest seventh in scoring this season, in large part due to a lack of depth behind Tucker and Choi. Yoo isn't an elite bat by any means, but he's a solid budget option to round out this stack. Typically batting fifth or sixth, the first baseman will get the platoon advantage against Jo on Friday and will look to improve upon his .348/.408/.478 slash line. His .403 BABIP indicates that he's overachieved by a fair amount this season, though he hit a perfectly strong.291/.386/.463 in limited action last season with a more reasonable .341 BABIP. You won't have to pay up as if his current numbers are a true reflection of his ability, though, making him a decent choice given the matchup in this one.