DFS KBO: Sunday Cheat Sheet

Saturday's rain in Korea had an unusual effect on the daily fantasy world, as it's meant that, as of writing, Saturday's KBO slate is still live. Rain disrupted the Eagles' attempts to avoid making history with their record 19th-straight loss, as their game against the Bears was suspended after three innings with the Bears up 4-3. That game will be completed Sunday, with those two sides' regularly-scheduled game to follow. The pseudo-doubleheader will be handled differently by DraftKings and FanDuel; DraftKings won't include Sunday's game on their main slate, making it a four-game contest, while FanDuel will go ahead with the typical five-game setup. The rain may have had another effect for many players if it caused them to avoid the Heroes-Dinos game, leading to them missing out of the Heroes' 18-run performance in a matchup which saw the seemingly invincible Dinos lose for the third time in five games. Elsewhere around the league, a pitcher's duel between the Tigers' Ki Young Im and the Wyverns' Seung Won Moon provided the two best pitching performances of the day, with Im's Tigers emerging as 2-1 victors. Sunday's slate should be a relatively normal one, other than the fact that it's been reduced to four games on DraftKings, as the rain finally appears to be out of the way.

Pitchers

Hyun Jong Yang ($9,900 DraftKings, $25 FanDuel as "Kia Starting P") may not quite be living up to the deservedly lofty expectations that came with his third-place MVP finish last year, but it's not as if he's having a poor season. His 3.89 ERA and 1.27 WHIP may be disappointing for a player who recorded a 2.29 ERA and a 1.07 WHIP last year, but they're still perfectly respectable numbers. The veteran lefty seemingly has a much lower ceiling than last year, as his strikeout rate has fallen from 22.3 percent to 16.7 percent, but he still has a plenty high floor. That's especially true Sunday against the Wyverns, who have scored just 2.8 runs per game over their last eight contests.

Casey Kelly ($9,200 DraftKings, $27 FanDuel as "LG Starting P") has had an unusual season, as 17 of the 18 earned runs he's surrendered have come in just three starts. A few poor performances have sent his ERA up to 5.06, but most of his statline looks decent or better, as his WHIP sits at 1.38 and his strikeout rate comes in at 19.6 percent, a step up from his 16.9 percent mark in his debut KBO season. Kelly was one of the best pitchers in the league last year, cruising to a 2.55 ERA and a 1.14 WHIP, and he could look like that again in this one against a Giants lineup which sits eighth in scoring.

Adrian Sampson ($8,700 DraftKings, $22 FanDuel as "Lotte Starting P") is quite expensive on DraftKings for someone who's yet to impress in the KBO, though he's worth a look as a very cheap option on FanDuel. Sampson's season debut was delayed after he went home to the United States to be with his ailing father and then had to undergo a two-week quarantine upon his return. He's only made three starts, and they haven't been good, as he's struggled to a 6.91 ERA, a 1.88 WHIP and a 13.2 percent strikeout rate. He did at least record a quality start last time out, allowing three runs in 6.2 innings against the Eagles, though whether that qualifies as "quality" against a team which has lost 18 straight games is up for debate. Sampson's resume is admittedly unimpressive, but he deserves some benefit of the doubt given his MLB experience and disrupted start. He'll face Kelly's Twins, whose lineup is still decent but a lot less imposing in the absence of Roberto Ramos (ankle/back).

Top Targets

Preston Tucker's ($5,700 DraftKings, $17 FanDuel) Tigers are worth stack consideration against the Wyverns' Geon Wook Lee, whose 3.78 ERA in 16.2 innings is solid but doesn't come with good peripherals. The fact that Lee is a 25-year-old who'd only thrown two KBO innings prior to this season is probably a fairer reflection of his ability. Tucker, as usual, is the Tigers' best bet for a big day against the righty. The outfielder has hit safely in 11 of his last 12 games, hitting .364/.429/.614 with three homers, nine RBI and 10 runs over that stretch.

Baek Ho Kang ($6,000 DraftKings, $16 FanDuel) went hitless in his first two games back from a three-week absence due to a wrist injury, but he's since grabbed six hits and a pair of homers in his last three games. Combined with his work from before the injury, he's now hitting .333/.400/.720 through 19 games this season. He's tied for seventh in the league with seven homers, a remarkable achievement given that everyone else who's hit at least that many bombs has appeared in at least 31 games. He'll get the platoon advantage in the league' most hitter-friendly park against Lions righty Tae In Won, whose 15.5 percent strikeout rate and generally mediocre peripherals don't back up his 2.68 ERA.

Bargain Bats

Ja Wook Koo ($5,000 DraftKings, $9 FanDuel) only fits into this category on FanDuel, but he's hit well enough this season that his DraftKings price seems like an accurate reflection of his talent. He returned from a thigh injury at the start of this week and picked up right where he left off, grabbing eight hits in five games while homering twice. Combined with his numbers from before his injury, he's now hitting .368/.431/.632 through 16 games. If not for a pair of even more compelling options, his Lions easily could have been a stack recommendation here given their matchup against Hyeong Jun So in the league's most hitter-friendly park. The 18-year-old has struggled to a 5.35 ERA and a 9.0 percent strikeout rate through his first six KBO starts.

I recently vowed to not recommend an Eagle for quite a long time, but I'm willing to break my word with Won Joon Jang expected to pitch the second game of Sunday's pseudo-doubleheader for the Bears. The 34-year-old southpaw had plenty of successful years earlier in his career, but he threw just two innings last season and recorded an awful 9.92 ERA in 71.2 innings in 2018. The top of the Eagles' lineup is very left-handed, but right-handed veteran cleanup hitter Tae Kyun Kim (N/A DraftKings, $7 FanDuel) could be worth a look. The 38-year-old's .204/.306/.241 slash line this season is undeniably awful, but he's managed an above-average batting line in every single season since his rookie campaign all the way back in 2002. He's looked better of late this campaign, recording three multi-hit games in his last five contests and hitting his first homer of the year in Saturday's suspended game.

Stacks To Consider

Heroes vs. Jin Ho Kim: Jung Hoo Lee ($5,200 DraftKings, $14 FanDuel), Keon Chang Seo ($3,700 DraftKings, $11 FanDuel), Ha Seong Kim ($5,900 DraftKings, $15 FanDuel)

The Heroes' hitters showed what they could do Saturday, scoring 18 runs in a blowout win to take the second game of the series against the Dinos. They should have a decent shot at a sweep Sunday with Jin Ho Kim on the mound, a 22-year-old who's set to make his KBO debut. With many of the top pitchers in the league debuting in their teens, the fact that Kim is just now reaching the highest level of Korean baseball seemingly indicates that he's not a particularly highly-rated talent. His numbers in the Futures League certainly don't suggest that he's in for immediate success, as he struggled to a 6.35 ERA in 11.1 innings, striking out eight batters, walking 10 and hitting four more.

Lee leads this Heroes stack, as he nearly always does with a right-hander on the mound for the opposition. His homer in Saturday's blowout victory was his sixth of the year, meaning he's already tied his career high in that category. He's added power in his age-21 season without sacrificing contact, as he's hitting .373 with an excellent 7.2 percent strikeout rate. The number three hitter should be right in the middle of what could be yet another big day for his team.

Seo, a former KBO MVP back in 2014, remains quite affordable and gets a boost on DraftKings, where he's eligible at second base. The leadoff man has the prototypical skillset for the role, as he's walked 12.9 percent of the time, helping him to a .396 on-base percentage, and has stolen seven bases. You can't count on him for much power (though his four homers this year are already more than he's managed in the last two seasons combined), but his .299 batting average marks the seventh straight season he's posted a mark of .298 or better in that category.

Ha Seong Kim remains by far the best (though also by far the most expensive) use of the shortstop slot on DraftKings. Unlike Lee and Seo, he won't get the platoon advantage Sunday, but with the way he's been hitting of late, that probably won't matter. He's riding a 13-game hitting streak, hitting .358 with four homers, 12 runs and 13 RBI over that stretch. His seven homers on the season are a solid mark at any position, let alone shortstop, and his .278 batting average should rise along with his .275 BABIP, as he's striking out in just 10.8 percent of his plate appearances.

Dinos vs. Young Gun Jo: Sung Bum Na ($6,300 DraftKings, $17 FanDuel), Min Woo Park ($5,100 DraftKings, $12 FanDuel), Myung Gi Lee ($3,300 DraftKings, $9 FanDuel)

This contest figures to be quite a high-scoring one, as it features the two pitchers who are probably the least trustworthy arms on the entire slate. Jo, a 21-year-old righty, has made just four career KBO appearances, posting a 6.75 ERA, a 2.25 WHIP and a 5:8 K:BB. To be fair, his stats are inflated by his lone appearance last season, when he gave up three runs while getting just one out, but even looking at just this year, his 4.00 ERA isn't backed up by his 1.67 WHIP or 4:5 K:BB. There's little reason to believe he can shut down the league's best lineup in this one.

As usual, Na leads this stack of Dinos lefties. He continues to have exactly the season he was looking for as he tries to prove that he's healthy following last year's knee injury and ready to make the jump to the MLB. He has at least one hit in 17 of his last 19 games, posting a .382/.453/.750 slash line with six homers over that stretch. He's filled up the leaderboard this season, leading the league in runs (30), sitting tied for second in homers (10) and fifth in slugging (.619).

Leadoff man Park is far more expensive on DraftKings than FanDuel, though his second-base eligibility makes him still worth consideration on the former site. He's an excellent contact hitter, striking out in just 5.5 percent of his plate appearances this season. That's helped him hit .321,  though that would actually represent his lower mark since 2015. Against an unproven pitcher like Jo, Park should get the chance to get on base multiple times and add to his total of 23 runs.

Lee is certainly not one of the Dinos' best hitters, but he's one of the cheapest, allowing you to keep this stack relatively affordable. In many respects, it's odd that he's been batting in the key number two spot, though his recent performance certainly doesn't make that seem like a bad idea. He's riding a 10-game hitting streak, hitting .515 over that stretch while scoring 10 runs. Five of his last six games have been multi-hit efforts, and he's reached base at least twice in all six.