DFS KBO: Sunday Cheat Sheet

Saturday's KBO slate was full of strong pitching performances, with seven teams scoring three or fewer runs. Pitching fans will have most enjoyed a duel between a pair of excellent lefties in the Tigers' Hyun Jong Yang and the Heroes' Eric Jokisch. Yang had a solid performance, allowing two runs in six innings, but Jokisch had one of the best outings of the year, tossing eight scoreless innings while allowing just a single hit as his side won 2-0. Chan Heon Jung was arguably just as good for the Twins, though, as he pitched a complete-game, three-hit shutout as his Twins finally snapped their seven-game losing streak with a 3-0 win over the Wyverns. On the hitting side, the Bears provided the best stack opportunities as they smashed the Dinos 12-3, with Kyoung Min Hur leading off and scoring three runs, while Mel Rojas extended his lead atop the home-run leaderboard to four with his 17th bomb of the season. Sunday's slate could be another low-scoring set of games, with a rather top-heavy group of pitchers taking the hill.

Pitchers

The Twins finally got their first win in over a week Saturday and should be well-positioned to take a second straight game from the lowly Wyverns on Sunday with Chan Gyu Lim ($8,200 DraftKings, $26 FanDuel as "LG Starting P") on the mound. His price tag on both sites is higher than you might expect given that his unimpressive 4.69 ERA this season isn't all that much better than his career 5.06 mark, but it seems quite fair given his opponent and his underlying numbers. Both his 23.2 percent strikeout rate and 6.1 percent walk rate this season are quite strong, indicating that his ERA should drop going forward.

Odrisamer Despaigne ($8,100 DraftKings, $26 FanDuel as "KT Starting P") has struggled of late, but he's nonetheless worth strong consideration against the anemic Eagles, who rank last in runs per game and seemingly every other category this season. The Cuban righty's 2020 campaign is very much a tale of two seasons. In four starts in May, he went 2-0 with a 1.80 ERA, a 0.96 WHIP and a 25:5 K:BB. In five June starts, he's gone 1-4 with a 7.71 ERA, a 1.82 WHIP and a 16:11 K:BB. He's not one of my three favorite starters on a day full of aces, but he earns a mention here nonetheless due to the fact that he gets to face the worst lineup in the league.

Aaron Brooks ($8,500 DraftKings, $28 FanDuel as "Kia Starting P") is facing a much tougher test against a third-ranked Heroes lineup, but he's talented enough to be worth a look against nearly any opponent. He held the Heroes to one run in 5.2 innings while striking out six and walking none in his KBO debut, and he's produced similar numbers throughout his nine starts. His statline is very strong across the board, as he owns a 2.62 ERA, a 1.11 WHIP, a 22.2 percent strikeout rate and a 5.1 percent walk rate.

Top Targets

Even as the Twins ended their losing streak Saturday, their bats remained quite cold, as they scored just three runs in that victory and have averaged just 2.3 runs per game over their last seven contests. That kept me from recommending a full Twins stack even against Joo Han Kim, who's thrown just five innings this season while allowing six runs. I'm still as interested as ever in betting on Roberto Ramos' ($5,800 DraftKings, $17 FanDuel) bat to re-awaken, however, especially given the soft matchup. It's now been over two weeks since his last homer, first due to ankle and back injuries and then due to a small slump, but he still owns an excellent .342/.421/.658 slash line on the season and will almost certainly get going again soon.

Heroes' righty Won Tae Choi's 1.26 WHIP suggests he deserves better than his 4.18 ERA, but he's still not intimidating enough to scare me away from Preston Tucker ($5,600 DraftKings, $17 FanDuel). He's been a streaky hitter this year, as his double Saturday ended a three-game hitless streak, but when he's on, he's right up there with the best bats in the league. Prior to that brief cold stretch, he'd gone .407/.485/.746 in his first 16 games in the month of June.

Bargain Bats

Ah Seop Son ($3,800 DraftKings, $13 FanDuel) is more of a mid-price option than a true budget play, but he's cheap enough on DraftKings that I'll list him in this section. He's interesting Sunday primarily due to the fact that he'll likely be the only left-handed Giant to hit near the top of the order against Lions righty Dae Woo Kim. Kim's 3.82 ERA and 1.33 WHIP are each fine marks, but they look rather unsustainable given his awful 11:13 K:BB. Son's hitless day Saturday ended his seven-game hitting streak, but he's still hitting an excellent .384/.419/.547 in the month of June.

The Bears are facing the great Drew Rucinski, who owns a 2.67 ERA and a 1.15 WHIP through nine starts, though he's been relatively mortal of late, allowing three runs in each of his last two outings. With the way the Bears' lineup is hitting lately, scoring 8.2 runs per game over their last nine contests, you could certainly make a case that you shouldn't avoid them completely even against the best pitchers in the league. Joo Hwan Choi ($2,700 DraftKings, $13 FanDuel) is a cost-effective way to grab a piece of their lineup. The left-handed hitter has been hitting third or fifth against righties and is certainly worth a look at his price if he hits there again in this one. He's been quite hot over his last 10 games, hitting .341/.400/.585 with twice as many homers (two) as strikeouts (one).

Stacks To Consider

Wiz vs. Chad Bell: Mel Rojas Jr. ($6,00 DraftKings, $17 FanDuel), Jae Gyun Hwang ($4,900 DraftKings, $8 FanDuel), Han Joon Yoo ($3,500 DraftKings $11 FanDuel)

It's never good when a starter's best outing of the year still doesn't count as a quality start, but that was true of Bell's last appearance, as his four runs allowed (three earned) in 5.2 innings against the Lions was a comparably dominant performance given that he owns a 7.67 ERA and a 1.93 WHIP so far this season. His season debut was delayed by elbow problems, and it's hard to say he's fully healthy given his numbers thus far. It's similarly difficult to say he's deserved better results than he's had so far this year, as both his 14.9 percent strikeout rate and 11.9 percent walk rate are quite poor.

A southpaw on the mound for the Eagles means I'll stay away from Baek Ho Kang in favor of cheaper options, but Mel Rojas is more than capable of leading a stack on his own. His ridiculous hot streak continued with yet another homer Saturday, his third in three games and his 13th in his last 24 contests. He's hitting .351/.394/.814 with 30 RBI over that stretch and has emerged as the early MVP favorite.

Hwang's .266/.312/.403 season slash line is rather mediocre, though it's held back by a poor 3-for-31 stretch in his first seven games since returning from a finger injury. His bat appears to have woken up again, though, as he's gone 4-for-10 with a homer, four walks, four RBI and six runs scored in his last four games. It would be nice if he were cheaper on DraftKings or if he hit higher than sixth, but he's nevertheless worth a look on both sites, as he fills the surprisingly shallow third-base spot on DraftKings. 

38-year-old Yoo slots in between Rojas and Hwang in the fifth spot. While he's only managed 16 RBI in 30 games, in part due to the fact that Rojas has a tendency to clear the bases himself, his overall .284/.348/.471 slash line is quite solid. There's room for his numbers to rise, too, as his .289 BABIP is his lowest mark since 2012. He's hit over .300 for six straight seasons. He's not a star at his age, but he nevertheless still a value play at his price, especially given the matchup.

Lions vs. Se Woong Park: Ja Wook Koo ($4,800 DraftKings, $9 FanDuel), Hak Ju Lee ($4,400 DraftKings, $7 FanDuel), Hae Min Park ($2,800 DraftKings, $7 FanDuel)

Se Woong Park has really struggled of late, allowing four or more runs in five of his last six outings. His ERA has now risen to 6.08, while his WHIP sits at 1.65. Allowing 1.6 HR/9 seems to be the primary culprit, as his combination of an 18.4 percent strikeout rate and an 8.6 percent walk rate is perfectly respectable. The 24-year-old has produced rather underwhelming numbers throughout his six-year KBO career, however, as he owns an overall 5.35 ERA and a 1.57 WHIP.

With Tyler Saladino (back) on the shelf, Koo is the Lions' top bat, though he'd have a case for that title even with Saladino healthy. A thigh injury has limited him to just 27 games this season, but he's been quite productive when available, hitting .320/.379/.524 with four homers and six steals. He's a step below the league's elite hitters, but he's been a quality all-around player throughout his six-year KBO career, averaging 16.2 homers and 11.6 steals over his five full seasons while posting a lifetime .319 batting average.

Injuries to both Saladino and Won Seok Lee (ankle) have seen Hak Ju Lee fill the cleanup spot in both of the Lions' last two games. The shortstop doesn't have close to the typical talent for the position, though his .273/.349/.438 slash line is perfectly respectable. He's homered four times on the year while adding three steals. He's primarily interesting for his lineup position and matchup, though he's also been quite hot over his last 12 games, recording seven multi-hit contests and an overall .409/.469/.545 slash line.

Hae Min Park is mostly interesting for his lineup position as well, as he's slid up to the number two spot against the last three righties the Lions have faced. His overall .280/.306/.432 season slash line is rather unremarkable, though that explains why he's quite cheap. He's been seeing the ball quite well in his last 20 games since returning from a demotion to the Futures League, hitting .365/.412/.556.