This article is part of our DraftKings KBO series.
The KBO is in the midst of the stretch run of its 2020 regular season and there are few games separating the top quartet of the Dinos, Heroes, Twins and Wiz. The Bears and Tigers have also hit the 60-win threshold and remain in postseason contention, and Friday, there are some shaky pitching options on the hill that some of those squads will have a chance to capitalize on.
As customary, I'll highlight what I consider to be two of the safer pitching options at different price points, followed by some one-off hitters across the salary scale that could also prove profitable for cash games and/or tournaments. I'll then break down the two stacks that I trust the most to potentially string some above-average offensive numbers together and pay off for you in tournaments.
Pitchers
Odrisamer Despaigne ($9,500) is the most expensive arm on the ledger, but he's also averaging a slate-high 14.5 DK points per start and checks into this matchup with an impressive 14-5 record and 3.99 ERA across 27 starts. Despaigne draws a team he's had solid success against this season in the Tigers, against which he's posted a 2.60 ERA, 1.19 WHIP and average of 22.7 DK points over four starts. Despaigne has also done his best work at home, where he has a 3.73 ERA and average of 14.2 DK points, and he comes in with tallies of greater than 19 DK points in four of his last 10 trips to the mound.
The KBO is in the midst of the stretch run of its 2020 regular season and there are few games separating the top quartet of the Dinos, Heroes, Twins and Wiz. The Bears and Tigers have also hit the 60-win threshold and remain in postseason contention, and Friday, there are some shaky pitching options on the hill that some of those squads will have a chance to capitalize on.
As customary, I'll highlight what I consider to be two of the safer pitching options at different price points, followed by some one-off hitters across the salary scale that could also prove profitable for cash games and/or tournaments. I'll then break down the two stacks that I trust the most to potentially string some above-average offensive numbers together and pay off for you in tournaments.
Pitchers
Odrisamer Despaigne ($9,500) is the most expensive arm on the ledger, but he's also averaging a slate-high 14.5 DK points per start and checks into this matchup with an impressive 14-5 record and 3.99 ERA across 27 starts. Despaigne draws a team he's had solid success against this season in the Tigers, against which he's posted a 2.60 ERA, 1.19 WHIP and average of 22.7 DK points over four starts. Despaigne has also done his best work at home, where he has a 3.73 ERA and average of 14.2 DK points, and he comes in with tallies of greater than 19 DK points in four of his last 10 trips to the mound.
Kyung Eun Noh ($6,900) doesn't have a pretty won-loss mark (4-7) or the most impressive of ERAs (4.86), but he offers plenty of savings and also draws an excellent matchup against a weak Eagles offense he's already dominated twice this season. Noh owns a 1.39 ERA and 1.00 WHIP across two starts versus Hanwha, leading to an average of 21.7 DK points. Additionally, most of the right-hander's trouble has come at home, as he sports an impressive .231 BAA across 49.2 road frames. Additionally, the Eagles check in with the lowest runs per game (3.7), hits per game (8.0) and HR per game (0.6), furthering Noh's case as a value play.
ALSO CONSIDER: Myung Gi Song ($6,500)
Top Targets
Mel Rojas ($5,900) continues his MVP-caliber season down the stretch, as he's hitting .364 (12-for-33) over the last 10 games. The slugger owns a stellar .347/.409/.669 line with 70 XBH (including 37 homers) and 107 RBI over 114 games. Rojas is hitting .339 with runners in scoring position, and Tigers starting pitcher Hyun Sik Jang comes into Friday's matchup with a .327 BAA, 7.86 ERA and 1.71 WHIP across 26.1 innings this season.
Aaron Altherr ($4,700) has been excellent in his first KBO season, as evidenced by a .294/.365/.556 slash line, 46 XBH and 90 RBI over 430 plate appearances. Altherr has also been a contributor on the basepaths with 18 stolen bases, and he's hitting .352 with runners in scoring position. Altherr has also enjoyed plenty of success against Twins pitching, hitting .316 (12-for-38) with two home runs and nine RBI over nine games.
Kyoung Min Hur ($4,400) has been underpriced all season, and he'll check into Friday's matchup with a .328/.378/.436 line, 15 doubles, one triple, six homer runs, 43 RBI and 11 steals. Hur also has a .376 average with runner is in scoring position, and the fact he's hit just. 200 over his last 10 games could certainly make him less rostered than usual. Hur also enjoyed success against Lions starter Chae Heung Choi in his last encounter with him, going 3-for-5 in that contest.
ALSO CONSIDER: Eui Ji Yang ($6,100); Sung Bum Na ($6,000); Ha Seong Kim ($5,800); Jae Gyun Hwang ($5,700); Jose Fernandez ($5,400); Jung Hoo Lee ($5,300)
Bargain Bats
Dae Ho Lee ($4,000) has struggled at the plate of late, but he still carries a solid .284/.349/.444 line with 38 XBH and 81 RBI. Eagles starter Ee Whan Kim is a good candidate to help Lee break out of the skid, considering he's yielded a 6.13 ERA and 1.92 WHIP on the season, including a 7.56 ERA and .361 BAA across 8.1 innings over two starts against Lotte. Lee
Chi Hong An ($3,300) is another member of the Giants that could be poised to exploit Kim's weaknesses, considering he owns a .283 average, .351 on-base percentage, 32 XBH, 50 RBI and 14 steals over 104 games. The veteran second baseman is also hitting a solid .293 with runners in scoring position, making him an attractive value option versus a vulnerable pitcher.
ALSO CONSIDER: Ah Seop Son ($4,000); Jeong Dae Bae ($3,800); Jae Il Oh ($3,700)
Stacks to Consider
Wiz vs. Hyun Sik Jang: Jeong Dae Bae ($3,800); Jae Gyun Hwang ($5,700); Mel Rojas ($5,900); Baek Ho Kang ($4,900)
Jang's vulnerabilities were already detailed in Rojas' entry, and the Wiz also check into Friday's game with a robust average of 5.6 runs per game, a .282 team batting average and the third-most team homers (128).
Bae has a .302/.381/.464 line with 39 XBH, 57 RBI and 18 steals in 114 games, and he's posted an outstanding 1.022 OPS and average of 10.8 DK points over 56 home contests. Bae is also hitting .327 and has a .400 OBP over 13 games against Kia pitching.
Hwang is putting up 9.7 DK points per contest, the byproduct of a .305/.368/.496 with 47 XBH, 70 RBI, 11 steals and 85 runs across 104 games. Hwang checks into Friday on a hot streak as well, hitting .325 with an average of 9.7 DK points in the last 10 games.
Rojas was already discussed earlier, while Kang is also swinging a hot bat with a .325 average over his last 10 contests. The slugger is slashing .317/.396/.528 with 24 doubles, one triple, 18 home runs, 68 RBI in 99 games, and he's blistered Kia pitching for a .382 average, .512 OBP and .529 slugging percentage over the last 10 contests.
Giants vs. Ee Whan: Kim Hoon Jung ($4,700); Ah Seop Son ($4,000); Jun Woo Jeon ($4,200); Dae Ho Lee ($4,000)
ALSO CONSIDER: Chi Hong An ($3,300)
Kim's weaknesses were already discussed in Lee's entry, and Lotte checks in with a solid .275 team batting average overall.
Jung makes for an excellent way to start the stack, as he boasts an average of 8.9 DK points per contest that bumps up to 9.2 on the road. He's also driven in 30 of his 48 runs on the season in his away contests and is hitting .351 over his last 10 games.
Son is an excellent value play that arrives with a .347/.408/.472 line with 65 RBI over 110 games, the latter a byproduct of his .349 average with runners in scoring position. The veteran outfielder has also been excellent against the Eagles all season, posting a .373/.429/.588 line with two homers and nine RBI across a 12-game sample.
Finally, Jeon has 48 XBH and 77 RBI in 112 games this season, and he checks in with double-digit fantasy-point tallies in three of the last six contests.
ALSO CONSIDER: Dinos vs. Chan Gyu Lim
