This article is part of our DraftKings KBO series.
Saturday's KBO action saw the Eagles finally get their 10th win of the season, beating the league-leading Dinos 4-3 behind Warwick Saupold's strong performance, as he struck out seven while allowing just a single earned run in 6.1 innings. The Dinos maintained their 2.5-game lead atop the standings, however, as the Bears again manhandled the Twins, winning 8-2 despite their top four hitters combining for just two hits and zero runs. Elsewhere, seven strikeouts in six scoreless innings from Adrian Sampson helped the Giants to an 8-0 win over the Wiz, while the Heroes defeated the Wyverns 9-3, with Ha Seong Kim scoring four runs and Jung Hoo Lee driving in four. Sunday's slate looks like a fairly balanced one, with a few aces pitching as well as a large handful of unreliable arms.
Pitchers
Eric Jokisch ($9,100 DraftKings, $28 FanDuel as "Kiwoom Starting P") had probably his worst start of the year last time out against the Giants, though it says a lot about his season to date that a start in which he only allowed two earned runs qualifies for that title. The lefty has only struck out seven batters across his last three starts and only managed a single strikeout in his last outing, but his 18.0 percent strikeout rate on the season is still a fine mark, especially when paired with his 4.2 percent walk rate. Even after a few slightly less dominant outings, he still owns a 1.68 ERA and a 0.99 WHIP. He's
Saturday's KBO action saw the Eagles finally get their 10th win of the season, beating the league-leading Dinos 4-3 behind Warwick Saupold's strong performance, as he struck out seven while allowing just a single earned run in 6.1 innings. The Dinos maintained their 2.5-game lead atop the standings, however, as the Bears again manhandled the Twins, winning 8-2 despite their top four hitters combining for just two hits and zero runs. Elsewhere, seven strikeouts in six scoreless innings from Adrian Sampson helped the Giants to an 8-0 win over the Wiz, while the Heroes defeated the Wyverns 9-3, with Ha Seong Kim scoring four runs and Jung Hoo Lee driving in four. Sunday's slate looks like a fairly balanced one, with a few aces pitching as well as a large handful of unreliable arms.
Pitchers
Eric Jokisch ($9,100 DraftKings, $28 FanDuel as "Kiwoom Starting P") had probably his worst start of the year last time out against the Giants, though it says a lot about his season to date that a start in which he only allowed two earned runs qualifies for that title. The lefty has only struck out seven batters across his last three starts and only managed a single strikeout in his last outing, but his 18.0 percent strikeout rate on the season is still a fine mark, especially when paired with his 4.2 percent walk rate. Even after a few slightly less dominant outings, he still owns a 1.68 ERA and a 0.99 WHIP. He's a good bet to get back to his previous form against a Wyverns lineup that ranks second-last in runs per game this year.
Hyun Jong Yang ($9,700 DraftKings, $28 FanDuel as "Kia Starting P") has picked things up following a disappointing start to the year, allowing a total of just five runs across his last three outings while striking out 18 and walking five. He's improved his ERA to 3.89, though he's capable of far better, as he cruised to a 2.29 ERA and a 1.07 WHIP last season while finishing third in MVP voting. His strikeout and walk numbers have both moved in the wrong direction this season, though his combination of a 19.9 percent strikeout rate and a 7.2 percent walk rate remains strong. He'll face the seventh-ranked Lions lineup Sunday, a unit which isn't particularly threatening when not playing at their hitter-friendly home park.
William Cuevas ($7,800 DraftKings, $20 FanDuel as "KT Starting P") is remarkably cheap on FanDuel and still interesting as a mid-priced choice on DraftKings. He hasn't pitched in three weeks due to a hip injury, so he comes with a bit of risk, but that's offset by a matchup against the Giants' eighth-ranked lineup. Cuevas' 6.28 ERA through five starts prior to his injury wasn't close to good, but his underlying numbers were generally fine, as his 17.8 percent strikeout rate is identical to his mark from 2019, when he cruised to a 3.62 ERA, while his 6.2 percent walk rate beats his mark from last year by over two ticks.
Top Targets
Roberto Ramos ($5,200 DraftKings, $17 FanDuel) went hitless in his first two games since returning from ankle and back issues, but his bat woke up Saturday as he hit a pair of singles. His five-game absence allowed Mel Rojas to tie him at the top of the home-run leaderboard with 13, but he could have a good shot to reclaim the lead Sunday. He'll face Raul Alcantara, a fine but hardly intimidating starter who owns a 4.13 ERA through eight starts after posting a 4.01 ERA in his KBO debut last season.
Jung Hoo Lee ($4,900 DraftKings, $14 FanDuel) has now hit a career-high 7 homers after hitting a three-run shot as part of a three-hit, four-RBI performance Saturday. He's now hitting a remarkable .406/.465/.703 in the month of June, somehow managing to improve on his excellent .359/.430/.598 line in May. The 21-year-old continues to get better in all areas of his offensive game, as he's added newfound power without sacrificing any contact, as he's also hitting a career-best .378 while striking out in just 7.3 percent of his at-bats.
Bargain Bats
Like his teammate Lee, Hye Sung Kim ($2,700 DraftKings, $9 FanDuel) will get the platoon advantage against Wyverns righty Ricardo Pinto, whose solid 3.66 ERA isn't backed up by his 1.65 WHIP or 26:24 K:BB. The 21-year-old Kim had accomplished very little prior to this season, but he's having a productive year, hitting .281 with four homers and three steals. Three of those homers have come in his last nine games, a stretch in which he's scored 10 runs and driven in 10 more. That's helped him move up to the top two spots in the Heroes' lineup for his last three games. He'll be an excellent value as long as he can remain in a prime spot in the order.
The Tigers deserve stack consideration against Lions lefty Jung Hyun Baek, who's struggled to a 6.48 ERA and a 1.72 WHIP through five starts, though the fact that their top two hitters (Preston Tucker and Hyung Woo Choi) will get the platoon disadvantage against the southpaw was enough for me to look elsewhere. Right-handed cleanup man Ji Wan Na ($3,800 DraftKings, $9 FanDuel) certainly deserves consideration as a cheaper option, however. The 35-year-old has bounced back from an awful 2019 campaign, in which he hit just .186/.301/.364 in 56 games, to hit .303/.388/.492 through his first 38 games this season. He's shown more power in the recent past, slugging .534 or better for three straight years from 2016 to 2018, but even if he doesn't improve on his current line, he'll be a useful option at his price.
Stacks To Consider
Wiz vs. Kyung Eun Noh: Baek Ho Kang ($6,000 DraftKings, $16 FanDuel), Mel Rojas ($5,600 DraftKings, $17 FanDuel), Yong Ho Jo ($2,800 DraftKings, $8 FanDuel)
Noh was out of the league and pitching in Australia last year, and he hasn't looked good through his first seven starts back in his home country this season. The 36-year-old righty has struggled to a 5.31 ERA even while recording a low .274 BABIP. He doesn't issue many free passes, posting a low 6.6 percent walk rate, but that's just about all he does well. He's striking out just 15.1 percent of opposing batters while allowing 1.4 HR/9, well above the league-average 1.0 HR/9 mark.
Kang has been on a roll since returning from a three-week absence due to a wrist injury. His hitless day Saturday ended an eight-game hitting streak, a stretch in which he hit .424 with three homers. On the season as a whole, he's hitting an excellent .340/.405/.680 with eight homers. That number ties him for seventh in the league, an impressive feat considering that every other player who's cleared the fence at least seven times has played in at least 11 more games than he has.
Rojas has finally moved up to third in the order for the last two games after oddly being stuck in the fifth spot for much of the year despite some incredible numbers. He's riding a streak of three straight multi-hit games, part of a nine-game hitting streak in which he's hit .436 while scoring nine times, driving in nine runs and launching four homers. He's now tied with Roberto Ramos for the league lead with 13 homers while ranking second in both runs (34) and RBI (38).
Jo provides a cheap counterpart to pair with his rather expensive teammates. He's spent the last two games batting right in front of them in the second spot and will get the platoon advantage against Noh. While his price, lineup position and matchup are the primary reasons to be interested in him here, he's a decent hitter in his own right, hitting .336/.431/.382 on the year. He's yet to homer in parts of four KBO seasons, but he has strong on-base ability, walking 18 times to go with just 16 strikeouts this season, giving him plenty of chances to get knocked in by Kang and Rojas.
Dinos vs. Min Woo Kim: Sung Bum Na ($6,400 DraftKings, $17 FanDuel), Myung Gi Lee ($3,600 DraftKings, $9 FanDuel), Min Woo Park ($5,700 DraftKings, $12 FanDuel)
The Dinos remain stuck in a rare slump, winning just three of their last nine games. Their pitching is partially to blame, as they've allowed 6.6 runs per game over that stretch, but their bats have gone cold as well, managing a modest 4.4 runs per game in those contests. A date with Kim could be what they need to wake up again. Kim's statistical profile is a bit of an odd one. He'd been quite poor all-around in his first five seasons in the league, with five straight ERAs north of 5.00 and poor strikeout numbers. Suddenly, his strikeout rate has spiked up to a strong 22.8 percent this year, but his ERA remains high at 5.25. Homers have been his primary problem, as he's allowed a league-worst nine, including two in each of his last three outings. Even after their recent slump, the Dinos have still hit 11 more homers than anyone else in the league this season, and they could add several more to that total Sunday.
Na has been in a cold stretch that matches his team's, hitting just .216/.275/.405 with a worryingly-high 42.5 percent strikeout rate over his last nine games. He's been starting to turn things around against the Eagles, though, going 3-for-8 with a double and a homer in the first two games of the series while striking out just twice. If his recent slump (combined with his sky-high price tag) keeps his ownership rates down despite his excellent matchup, this could be a great time to own a player who sits third in homers (12), tied for second in runs (34) and tied for fifth in RBI (35).
While most of his teammates are struggling, Lee is in the middle of his best run of the season, hitting .481/.542/.577 over his last 15 games while scoring 13 runs. He doesn't hit for any power, hitting just one home run all season, but he should continue to hit for a high average, as he's struck out just three times in the month of June. With the platoon advantage against a weak righty while batting second in the league's best lineup, he should have plenty of chances to get driven in by the Dinos' top bats Sunday.
Park has become rather expensive on DraftKings, though he's still worth a look on that site due to his second-base eligibility. Like many of his fellow Dinos, he's been slumping lately, posting a .538 OPS over his last nine games, but his .306/.365/.435 season slash line remains solid. That line is likely to rise over the rest of the season, as his .316 BABIP is quite low compared to what he's done over the rest of his career. His previous career-low full-season BABIP was .357. The leadoff man should help Lee set the table for the Dinos' sluggers in this one.
