DFS KBO: Saturday Cheat Sheet

A busy, seven-game KBO slate Friday was headlined by a tight battle between the league-leading Dinos and the third-place Twins, which ended inconclusively in a 5-5 tie despite Hyun Soo Kim reaching base in all six of his plate appearances. The Heroes failed to take advantage of the opportunity to move into a tie for the league lead, falling a game back after getting upset by the basement-dwelling Eagles by a 7-1 score, with Min Woo Kim striking out seven and allowing just one run in six innings. Elsewhere, Odrisamer Despaigne allowed just one run on four hits over eight innings in the first of the Wiz's two victories over the Wyverns, while the Tigers and Giants split their twin bill, with strong performances from Hyun Jong Yang and Dan Straily helping their teams to victory in their respective starts. In the final game of the day, David Buchanan struck out nine Bears while allowing just one run in seven frames while Ja Wook Koo homered twice in the Lions' 12-5 win.

We're set for a standard, five-game slate Saturday, though rain may be a factor in the southern part of the country, as both the Twins-Giants game in Busan and the Dinos-Lions game in Daegu appear at risk of cancellation as of writing.

Pitchers

Jake Brigham ($10,100) struggled early in the season, posting a mediocre 4.91 ERA through his first eight starts, though that was likely related to the elbow issues that bothered him throughout the early part of the campaign. He appears to be full past the issue by now, as he's made four straight very strong starts, posting a 1.44 ERA and a 1.16 WHIP over that stretch. He was expected to be capable of this sort of frontline-starter performance heading into the year, as he served as the Heroes' Opening Day starter after posting a 2.96 ERA last season. His 3.50 ERA this year remains well above that number, but he's increased his strikeout rate to 23.1 percent, well above his 19.4 percent mark from last season. He'll face a strong Wiz lineup Saturday, but he's easily the most talented pitcher on the slate and is worthy of consideration against any opponent.

Chan Gyu Lim ($9,000) hasn't been at his best lately, but he still has enough upside to be worth a look against the Giants and their seventh-ranked lineup, especially since that unit skews very right-handed. Lim had a 3.57 ERA and a 1.26 WHIP through his first 13 outings of the year, but he's since struggled to a 5.24 ERA and a 1.61 WHIP over his last five outings. He's still had plenty of strikeout upside, whiffing 24 batters in 22.1 innings over that stretch, but he's suddenly had massive control problems, issuing 19 walks in that same period. It's not the most encouraging run of form, but grabbing the pitcher who ranks second among qualified starters with a 22.2 percent strikeout rate is still an appealing prospect against a mediocre offense.

Won Joon Choi ($7,200) isn't an elite arm, but he's a perfectly adequate one for his price and has emerged as the solid mid-rotation starter that the Bears have desperately needed. He's made eight starts since filling in for the injured Chris Flexen (foot) in mid-July and has posted a 3.18 ERA. His 1.41 WHIP over that stretch is less impressive, and his 17.6 percent strikeout rate on the season is nothing special, but that's all factored into his price. He should be a strong value play against the Wyverns' ninth-ranked lineup, especially as he'll have the Bears' second-ranked unit to provide him with plenty of run support and help him to a win.

Top Targets

While William Cuevas owns a 3.88 ERA on the season, his 11:15 K:BB over his last six starts is rather worrisome and suggests an implosion could be on the horizon. Ha Seong Kim ($5,500) could certainly be the one to push him over the edge. The potential future MLB infielder has been on quite a tear recently, going 9-for-13 over his last four games. Looking back over his last 15 contests, he's hitting .446/.544/.661 while adding six steals. That gives him 19 steals on the season, good for a share of third place, quite an impressive number when paired with his .305/.407/.522 slash line.

Hyung Woo Choi ($4,400) earns a spot here ahead of his teammate Preston Tucker, as he's been hotter lately and comes $1,200 cheaper, though both could be worth a look against Eagles righty Warwick Saupold, who's struggled to a 5.25 ERA this season. Choi's 15 homers on the season represent a fairly modest total next to Tucker's 24, but three of them have come in his last five games. His hot streak stretches back over his last 20 contests, in which he's hitting an impressive .400/.478/.658.

Bargain Bats

Daniel Palka's ($2,400) .708 OPS through his first nine KBO games is certainly nothing special, but it's far too early to write him off. Players deemed worthy of one of a team's three foreign player spots should be given the benefit of the doubt until they've proven they can't hang at the KBO level, and nine games certainly doesn't count as proof. Palka owns a respectable 91 wRC+ in 154 games at the MLB level, so he should certainly be able to handle himself quite well in Korea. He doesn't have to be all that much better than what he's been so far to be worth a look at his very low price, though getting the platoon advantage in the league's best hitters' park against a rookie in Min Hyuk Shin who owns a 5.73 ERA on the season certainly doesn't hurt.

Yong Kyu Lee ($3,300) has homered just twice in the last three seasons and hasn't posted a slugging percentage higher than .332 over that stretch, but he does just about everything else well. His .285 batting average is quite solid, and he pairs it with a high 13.2 percent walk rate to give himself a .385 on-base percentage. That's given him plenty of chances to show off his speed, helping him steal 15 bases, good for ninth in the league. He's swung a hot bat lately, hitting .378 over his last nine games, and should remain hot with the platoon advantage against Tigers righty Min Woo Lee, who owns a 5.69 ERA on the season.

Stacks to Consider

Dinos vs. In Wook Jung: Sung Bum Na ($6,900), Eui Ji Yang ($6,600), Jin Hyuk No ($4,700)

The 29-year-old Jung's only innings to date this season have come in the Futures League, and they haven't been good, he's allowed 11 runs in 13 frames while walking 11 batters. Considering that he struggled to a 7.06 ERA and a 1.80 WHIP in 21.2 KBO innings last year, that should hardly be a surprise. That poor performance looks largely deserved, as it came with a 15:15 K:BB. Even if this game wasn't taking place at the league's most hitter-friendly park, the Dinos would look like a very strong stack option against him.

The Dinos have the three most expensive hitters on this slate, and you're quite unlikely to be able to afford all three. Na is deservedly the most expensive of the trio (which also includes Yang and Aaron Altherr). While his season-long numbers--which include a .996 OPS and 27 homers, both of which rank third in the league--tell the story well enough on their own, they somewhat underrate what he's done lately. Over his last 24 games, he's hitting .356/.402/.692 with nine homers, 25 runs and 30 RBI.

Starting with Na and Yang is going to force budget concessions elsewhere, but the gap between Yang and the rest of the catcher pool is large enough that it's worth considering. Yang leads all catchers in homers (16), RBI (71), runs (51), average (.315), on-base percentage (.396) and slugging percentage (.547). He's been on quite a hot streak over his last 20 contests, posting a .417/.488/.694 slash line.

If you can find a way to fit in the very expensive Altherr beside the aforementioned pair, by all means, go for it, but I've selected No here as the third option in order to maintain some semblance of affordability. No isn't quite as dominant at the shortstop position as Yang is behind the plate, but his numbers still stand out. He ranks third among players eligible for the position (a group which for some reason contains Jeong Choi despite the fact that he hasn't played there since 2012) with 15 homers and sits in this same position in RBI (59) and OPS (.844).

Bears vs. Geon Wook Lee: Jose Fernandez ($6,100), Kun Woo Park ($4,900), Jae Il Oh ($4,100)

Lee's 4.94 ERA and 1.44 WHIP on the season aren't terrible, but they're both far from impressive. His combination of a 16.6 percent strikeout rate and a 13.8 percent walk rate is quite poor, particularly in the latter category, where he ranks last in the league among pitchers who have thrown at least 80 innings. He's walked 24 batters while striking out just 19 over his last six starts, and the results have been particularly poor, as he owns an 8.89 ERA and a 1.94 WHIP over that stretch.

Fernandez has made excellent contact all season, ranking first in the league with a .365 batting average and occupying the same spot with his 148 hits. That's nothing new for Fernandez, who finished second to Eui Ji Yang with a .344 batting average in his KBO debut last year while leading the league with 197 hits. While he was firmly a contact-before-power hitter last season, that's changed a bit this year, as his 16 homers already beat his total of 15 from last year, while he's increased his slugging percentage from .483 to .539. He's been on a tear over his last 15 games, hitting .418/.452/.567.

The Bears have more than enough strong lefties to stack against the right-handed Lee, but Park has been so good lately that he's worth consideration even without the platoon advantage. In his last 11 games, he's homered three times while hitting .385/.455/.769. He's generally been a modest power hitter at best, which is fine for a leadoff man, though his 12 homers so far this season are already tied for his best mark in the last three years.

Oh is a quality mid-priced option at first base, coming in cheaper than nine other players at the position despite ranking seventh in DraftKings points per game. He doesn't have the huge power typically associated with first basemen, but his 13 homers still represents a respectable total. Three of those homers have come in his last nine games, a stretch in which he's hitting  .308/.364/.564, though that's not necessarily any better than his .337/.394/.527 season slash line.