DFS KBO: Sunday Cheat Sheet

We've had a tie! It took over two months, but we've finally seen one of the more interesting features of the KBO show up, with the Dinos and Twins splitting the spoils after a hard-fought, 12-inning battle which saw Mike Wright get knocked out in the third inning and both Aaron Altherr and Roberto Ramos hit their 16th homers of the year. (This is the part where I complain about the MLB's ridiculous runner-on-second-in-extra-innings rule—have you met a single person who thinks that's a good idea? If two teams played equally well, have them share the credit and go home. It's only fair.) Elsewhere around the league, Mel Rojas went 3-for-4 with yet another homer as the Wiz defeated the Lions 10-7, while a pair of home runs from Dae In Hwang and a quality start from Aaron Brooks (though not a particularly strong one, as he allowed 11 hits) helped the Tigers past the Heroes by a score of 8-3. The Wiz and Tigers will be going for sweeps on Sunday, though the slate may be a difficult one for those who are unable to check their lineups at the last minute. As of writing, three games—Bears-Giants in Busan, Wyverns-Eagles in Daejeon and Heroes-Tigers in Gwangju—appear to be threatened by rain to various degrees.

Pitchers

Chang Mo Koo ($10,400 DraftKings, $31 FanDuel as "NC Starting P") is virtually always the top option on days he starts, and that's no different here. The struggling Twins aren't nearly the intimidating opponent they've been at times this season, and being a southpaw should help Koo neutralize the Twins' top bats, Roberto Ramos and Hyun Soo Kim. While Eric Jokisch has pulled into a slight lead atop the ERA leaderboard, Koo's 1.48 mark in that category is impeccable, and he leads all qualified starters in both WHIP (0.81) and strikeout rate (30.4 percent), the latter by over four ticks. He's a very strong bet to justify his expensive price Sunday.

Seung Won Moon ($8,400 DraftKings, $27 FanDuel as "SK Starting P") has been a rare bright spot for the struggling Wyverns this season. His 3.18 ERA and 1.14 WHIP are both strong marks, and they're supported by his underlying numbers. His 23.2 percent strikeout rate ranks fifth among qualified starters, and he's paired that with a 6.0 percent walk rate. While this level of success is new for the 30-year-old, especially in regards to his strikeout rate, which sat at a modest 16.9 percent last season, he showed signs of a breakout in 2019, posting a 3.88 ERA and a 1.13 WHIP. He'll face a very easy task Sunday against the league-worst Eagles lineup.

For a cheaper option, consider Shi Hwan Jang ($7,100 DraftKings, $26 FanDuel as "Hanwha Starting P"), who will square off against Moon and the ninth-ranked Wyverns offense Sunday. Jang's 5.07 ERA and 1.83 WHIP through 10 starts are both undeniably quite poor, but they're not necessarily a fair reflection of his talent. He hasn't shown good control, posting an 11.3 percent walk rate, but a .404 BABIP seems to be the primary cause of his inflated ERA and WHIP. His 23.4 percent strikeout rate, the fourth-best mark among qualified starters, gives him plenty of upside for a reasonable price.

Top Targets

If the Wiz and Tigers are able to get their game in despite threats of rain, Preston Tucker ($5,600 DraftKings, $16 FanDuel) should be a strong play. His slumps this season have been quite significant, as he went 2-for-30 at the plate during an eight-game stretch in late June and early July, but he's since gone on to grab at least one hit in six of his last seven games, hitting .370 with three homers over that stretch. On the season overall, he sits sixth in the league with 14 home runs and fourth with 49 RBI. He'll have a good chance to add to both of those numbers against Heroes righty Hyun Hee Han, who owns a poor 5.94 ERA after getting blown up for 10 runs in less than two innings by the Bears his last time out.

Mel Rojas Jr. ($6,300 DraftKings, $17 FanDuel) continued his absurd hot streak Saturday, homering for the second game in a row and grabbing multiple hits for the fourth straight night. He has a very strong claim as the best hitter in the league this year, as he leads in homers (21), runs (54), hits (90), batting average (.383), on-base percentage (.438), slugging percentage (.728) and OPS (1.166). He'll face David Buchanan in this one, who's coming off a pair of strong starts but whose solid 3.82 ERA isn't backed up by his mediocre 16.2 percent strikeout rate.

Bargain Bats

I'm never sure exactly which category Ah Seop Son ($3,900 DraftKings, $13 FanDuel) belongs in, but I'll list him here today as he's back under $4,000 on DraftKings. Son's Giants face what should be an easy matchup against Bears righty Young Ha Lee, who owns a 5.79 ERA and a 1.85 WHIP and has given up at least four runs in four of his last five starts. Unfortunately, the Giants' lineup skews heavily right-handed, which kept them from being listed as one of the recommended stacks here, but the left-handed Son is certainly worth a look. He's hit the ball well all season but has been particularly hot over his last 12 games, hitting .391/.434/.543.

While Shi Hwan Jang was mentioned above as an affordable option with upside, his 5.07 ERA and 1.83 WHIP indicate that he has significant downside as well. Tae In Chae ($2,500 DraftKings, $5 FanDuel) represents a cheap way to bet against him, especially on FanDuel, where he costs the absolute minimum. The 37-year-old has been quite effective in a small sample of 18 games this season, hitting .351/.429/.514 with a pair of homers. He missed most of the year with an intercostal injury, but he's been quite hot over his last nine contests, hitting .480/.536/.720. He'll likely bat fifth and will get the platoon advantage against Jang.

Stacks To Consider

Dinos vs. Yun Sik Kim: Aaron Altherr ($5,700 DraftKings, $15 FanDuel), Eui Ji Yang ($5,800 DraftKings, $13 FanDuel), Hee Dong Kwon ($3,200 DraftKings, $9 FanDuel)

The Dinos have the highest-scoring lineup in the league and are worthy of stack consideration in most games. That should be as true as ever against Kim, a 20-year-old with just 13.2 career KBO innings under his belt. He hasn't done anything to inspire much confidence during that limited action, which includes one start and nine relief appearances, struggling to a 7.24 ERA and a 1.68 WHIP while striking out just 12.1 percent of opposing batters. He did toss 105 pitches in his lone start of the year, so this looks like a true start rather than a bullpen day, though the Dinos could off course force an early move to the pen if Kim's struggles continue.

Kim isn't an intimidating enough southpaw that I'd avoid the Dinos' left-handed bats completely, but the visitors' lineup is deep enough that we can make several compelling stacks using just right-handed hitters. Altherr seems like a great place to start. His early-season struggles, which were seemingly related to a nagging hand injury and didn't extend beyond the first two weeks of the campaign, are fading further and further into the rearview mirror. Even with his early slump factored in, he's now hitting .308/.379/.617 on the season while leading the league in RBI (55) and sitting tied for second in homers (16) and tied for third in steals (11).

The Dinos shake up their lineup on a regular basis, though Yang and Altherr have hit back-to-back out of the fourth and fifth spots three times this week. Yang hasn't been in his best form of late, going hitless in four of his last six games, but that's a small blip on his otherwise excellent resume. His season-long .293/.374/.535 slash line would be quite good at any position, let alone catcher, though he's capable of even more. The 33-year-old posted an OPS north of 1.000 in each of the last two seasons and finished second in MVP voting last year.

Kwon has emerged as the Dinos' number two hitter during a breakout age-29 season and is the key to keeping this stack affordable. He'd been a decent enough hitter in the past, posting an OPS north of .800 in two of his first six seasons in the league, but his .957 mark this year, the product of a .307/.423/.533 slash line, is 128 points better than his previous career high. His 16.2 percent walk rate may be his greatest skill, giving him plenty of chances to get knocked in by the likes of Altherr and Kwon, though he has respectable pop as well, hitting nine homers.

Bears vs. Won Sam Jang: Kun Woo Park ($4,700 DraftKings, $14 FanDuel), Jose Fernandez ($6,200 DraftKings, $17 FanDuel), Jae Hwan Kim ($5,500 DraftKings, $17 FanDuel)

Jang has made just three starts this season, and things haven't gone at all the way he'd like. He's allowed 12 runs in 15 innings, good for a 7.20 ERA to go along with his 1.60 WHIP. He's only walked four batters, but he's only struck out four as well, good for an anemic 5.9 strikeout rate. The 37-year-old southpaw had some strong seasons early in his career, but he's been well past his peak for quite some time. His last season with an ERA below 5.50 came all the way back in 2014. The second-ranked Bears lineup looks set for a big day here.

Just as with the Dinos stack above, the Bears will face a southpaw who isn't intimidating enough to make me completely avoid the team's left-handed bats, but it makes sense to lead with a righty nonetheless. With Kyoung Min Hur away on paternity leave, Park could be the only righty to hit anywhere near the top of the order in this one. The right fielder struggled for most of May, but his bat came alive on the final day of the month, and he's stayed hot since, hitting .382/.436/.537 over his last 31 games. He doesn't have a ton of power, hitting just five homers on the year, though two of those have come in his last six games.

Given the matchup, Fernandez is very much worth a look here even with the platoon disadvantage. While just one of his 10 homers this season have come against a southpaw, it's not as if he's had significant issues with same-sided pitching, as he's hitting .391 against lefties in 64 at-bats. Fernandez has been excellent all year, hitting .372/.434/.577 overall, and he's been particularly hot over his last five games, hitting .391 with three homers.

Kim has similarly had no issues with lefties this season, hitting .328 against them in 67 at-bats. Five of his 11 homers on the season have come against southpaws. The left fielder has had quite an up-and-down season, but he's been on the upswing lately. His hitless day Saturday ended a 10-game hitting streak, and he's swung quite a hot bat over his last 21 contests, posting a .360/.500/.507 slash line.