This article is part of our DraftKings KBO series.
Rain appeared to threaten four of the five KBO contests Friday, though only two wound up getting canceled. Jake Brigham struggled, allowing five runs in five innings, while Casey Kelly allowed just a pair of runs in seven frames and Roberto Ramos hit his 20th homer of the year as the Twins beat the Heroes 5-2. Young Ha Lee pitched six scoreless innings for the Bears, but the defending champions bullpen blew up to the tune of a seven-run eighth inning as the Giants extended their winning streak to five with an 8-4 victory. Jun Woo Jeon hit a grand slam as part of that big inning for the visitors. Elsewhere, the Wyverns' offensive woes continued as they fell 2-0 to the Lions, with David Buchanan throwing seven shutout frames and 5-foot-4 Ji Chan Kim hitting his first career homer. Rain appears equally threatening heading into Saturday's slate, with the Twins-Heroes game in Gocheok Sky Dome again looking like the only safe contest as of writing.
Pitchers
The Giants may have scored at least seven runs in five straight games, but it's hard to see that streak continuing against Raul Alcantara ($10,300) given the way he's been pitching for most of the year. The righty produced a largely forgettable 4.63 ERA and 1.49 ERA through his first six starts, but he turned things on in mid-June and has gone on to record a 1.84 ERA and a 0.88 WHIP over his last 10 outings. Those numbers would both rank second
Rain appeared to threaten four of the five KBO contests Friday, though only two wound up getting canceled. Jake Brigham struggled, allowing five runs in five innings, while Casey Kelly allowed just a pair of runs in seven frames and Roberto Ramos hit his 20th homer of the year as the Twins beat the Heroes 5-2. Young Ha Lee pitched six scoreless innings for the Bears, but the defending champions bullpen blew up to the tune of a seven-run eighth inning as the Giants extended their winning streak to five with an 8-4 victory. Jun Woo Jeon hit a grand slam as part of that big inning for the visitors. Elsewhere, the Wyverns' offensive woes continued as they fell 2-0 to the Lions, with David Buchanan throwing seven shutout frames and 5-foot-4 Ji Chan Kim hitting his first career homer. Rain appears equally threatening heading into Saturday's slate, with the Twins-Heroes game in Gocheok Sky Dome again looking like the only safe contest as of writing.
Pitchers
The Giants may have scored at least seven runs in five straight games, but it's hard to see that streak continuing against Raul Alcantara ($10,300) given the way he's been pitching for most of the year. The righty produced a largely forgettable 4.63 ERA and 1.49 ERA through his first six starts, but he turned things on in mid-June and has gone on to record a 1.84 ERA and a 0.88 WHIP over his last 10 outings. Those numbers would both rank second behind only Chang Mo Koo had he been able to keep it up since the start of the season, though his overall 2.79 ERA and 1.08 WHIP rank a strong sixth and fourth, respectively.
Not much has gone right for the Wyverns lately, but that could change with Seung Won Moon ($8,400) on the mound. Moon was poor his last time out, allowing five runs on 10 hits in five innings against the Wiz, though that ended an extended stretch in which he allowed three or fewer runs in 10 straight starts. On the season as a whole, he owns a strong 3.74 ERA and a 1.18 WHIP, a near match for his 3.88 ERA and 1.13 WHIP from last season. He's backed those numbers up with a 20.4 percent strikeout rate and a 6.0 percent walk rate. He'll have a good chance to bounce back against the Lions' seventh-ranked lineup, though he'll need more run support than the Wyverns have been able to manage of late if he's to secure a win.
Mike Wright ($8,000) was priced as a top-tier option for much of the season, though he hasn't really pitched like one. He's an interesting pitcher on this slate now that his price has dropped to the point that he's accurately rated as more of a mid-tier option. His 4.08 ERA is fine but forgettable, while his 1.43 WHIP is barely better than league average. The righty has managed a solid 18.7 percent strikeout rate, but his 10.5 percent walk rate means he's allowed too much traffic on the bases. Still, it's a decent enough profile overall, which should be more than enough against the Tigers and their eighth-ranked offense.
Top Targets
If not for a pair of even more compelling options, the Bears easily could have been a stack recommendation against Giants righty Kyung Eun Noh, who still owns a 5.12 ERA even after surprisingly throwing seven scoreless innings against the Tigers his last time out. Jose Fernandez ($6,200) looks well worth paying up for with or without his teammates, however. His three-hit day Friday raised his season slash line to .363/.434/.556 and left him tied with Jung Hoo Lee with 113 hits, just two back of Mel Rojas Jr.'s league-leading mark. Fernandez led the league with 197 hits last season and is as good a bet as anyone to record multiple hits on a given night.
While Mike Wright was listed above as a decent mid-priced pitching option, he's not good enough to scare you away from the Tigers' top lefties should you elect not to include him yourself. Preston Tucker ($6,000) would be the one to grab for anyone with the budget space. While he's been both quite hot and quite cold at times this season, those stretches have averaged out to a very strong .304/.394/.571 slash line. He hasn't been at his absolute best of late, but there's nothing wrong with his .308/.413/.513 slash line over his last 11 games.
Bargain Bats
If the Eagles had enough interesting hitters, they'd be in stack consideration against Wiz righty Hyeong Jun So, who's struggled to a 5.29 ERA this season while striking out just 11.7 percent of opposing batters, third-worst among qualified starters. Leadoff man Yong Kyu Lee ($3,000) is a cheap outfielder who will get the platoon advantage against So. His skill set very much suits the leadoff role, as he's homered just once but has stolen 13 bases while walking at a 13.8 percent clip, helping him to a .273/.380/.303 overall slash line.
Just about nothing has gone right for the Wyverns of late, as they've scored a pathetic four runs over their last six games. Still, a matchup against 38-year-old Sung Hwan Yoon could be what they need to wake their bats up, as he's allowed six runs while striking out just one batter in his seven innings thus far this season. Most of the team's top hitters have been quite cold of late (which shouldn't be a surprise given the team's recent results), but Tae In Chae ($2,600) has actually swung the bat quite well. He's moved up to the cleanup spot in the team's last two games, a deserved role given his .375/.487/.594 slash line over his last 10 contests.
Stacks To Consider
Wiz vs. Chad Bell: Mel Rojas Jr. ($6,700), Jae Gyun Hwang ($5,300), Jeong Dae Bae ($4,100)
Bell is coming off arguably his best start of the year, but when that start comes against the lowly Wyverns and comes with just two strikeouts over five innings, it's hard to say he's officially figured things out. On the season as a whole, he's struggled to a 7.44 ERA and a 1.84 WHIP, striking out just 15.3 percent of opposing batters while walking 10.4 percent and allowing 1.5 HR/9. He's battled elbow issues all season, and while it's possible that his previous outing does indeed indicate he's healthy, even a healthy Bell could struggle against a lineup as good as the Wiz.
Rojas' price tag continues to rise, but he's still worthy of consideration for anyone who can fit him in. He's back to leading or tied for the lead in all three triple crown categories, recording 27 homers, 70 RBI and a .392 batting average. His home run dominance is particularly noteworthy, as he has a full seven more than anyone else in the league, though it shouldn't be a big surprise, as he hit 43 homers back in 2018. He has a remarkable 1.219 OPS on the season but has somehow been even better lately, hitting a ridiculous .439/.535/.932 over his last 20 games.
It's been Hwang rather than Baek Ho Kang (who isn't included in this stack due to the platoon disadvantage) who has been Rojas' right-hand man lately. The former San Francisco Giant struggled to a .256/.287/.372 slash line in his first 32 games but dramatically turned things around in late June. Over his last 32 games, he's hit .351/.415/.611, placing him among the best hitters in the league (non-Rojas division).
Bae has been stuck hitting sixth since early July, but he's nevertheless the best Wiz hitter to round out this stack. Unlike Kang and Yong Ho Jo, he'll have the platoon advantage, and unlike Han Joon Yoo, he hasn't been stuck in an extended slump. In his last 26 games, the center fielder has hit a strong .348/.423/.565 with six homers and eight steals. Bae's .419 BABIP on the season undoubtedly props up his .333/.396/.518 slash line, though his 13 steals suggest he has the speed to run at least an above-average BABIP.
Heroes vs. Yun Sik Kim: Ha Seong Kim ($6,100), Addison Russell ($5,300), Dong Won Park ($5,100)
Yun Sik Kim's first career start came against these Heroes, and it didn't go at all well for the 20-year-old rookie, who allowed five runs (four earned) on nine hits over five innings while striking out just one. Just two of his 12 appearances thus far have come in rotation, but he wasn't good in the other one, either, allowing five runs in 4.1 innings against the lowly Eagles. In 20.1 innings overall, the young lefty has struggled to a 7.52 ERA and a 1.67 WHIP, striking out just 11.5 percent of opposing batters.
Kim isn't good enough to make the Heroes' top lefties look like bad plays in this one, but we may as well load up on the righties here. Ha Seong Kim has produced excellent numbers throughout the season regardless of position, let alone for someone eligible at shortstop, hitting an overall .288/.393/.519 with 18 homers and 12 steals. That home run total is already just one shy of his total of 19 from last season, but he has the potential to steal even more than he has thus far, as he swiped 33 bags last year.
Russell may be difficult to play for those unable to check their lineups at the last minute, as he's been out of the lineup for two straight games due to fatigue. He certainly wasn't showing signs of fatigue in his first seven KBO games, hitting .375/.412/.531. For those who can't check on Russell's ability at the last minute, consider first baseman Byung Ho Park ($4,200) instead. If Russell is indeed back in the lineup, he'll follow Kim out of the number three spots and will be one of the top middle infielders on the slate.
Dong Won Park has been one of the top offensive catchers throughout the season. His 12 homers lead all players at the position, while his .862 OPS, the product of a .279/.348/.514 slash line, trails just Eui Ji Yang and Min Ho Kang. He's been trusted with a key role in one of the KBO's better lineups, primarily batting fifth but occasionally hitting cleanup, as he did on Thursday. Wherever he hits, he'll be a great way to fill your catcher position.
