DFS KBO: Sunday Cheat Sheet

Saturday's KBO slate kicked off August with a handful of wild games, headlined by an extra-innings affair between the Bears and Dinos which saw the teams score a combined 14 runs over the final three innings in the Bears' 12-10 10th-inning win. Jin Hyuk No homered and reached base five times for the losers. Elsewhere, David Buchanan had one of his customary blowups, giving up eight of what would eventually become 22 runs for the Heroes. Ha Seong Kim reached base seven times and scored four runs for the winners. The Wiz had a blowout win as well, easily handling the Wyverns by a 11-0 behind 6.2 shutout innings from Hyeong Jun So and yet another homer by Mel Rojas Jr. We've now had two straight full slates, though that streak could be threatened Sunday, as rain is again in the forecast for the northern part of the country, putting Eagles-Twins in Seoul and Wyverns-Wiz in Suwon at some risk.

Pitchers

Eric Jokisch ($9,600) may have fallen a bit from his early-season dominance, though there's certainly nothing wrong with his 2.20 ERA and 1.00 WHIP. He's still only allowed more than three runs in one start all season, and that came against the loaded Bears. The sixth-ranked Lions lineup shouldn't provide nearly the same challenge. Jokisch doesn't have the same strikeout upside as the rest of the league's top-tier pitchers, striking out a modest 16.3 percent of opposing batters, but he keeps runners off the bases with a league-best 3.5 percent walk rate.

Drew Gagnon ($9,200) has been one of the KBO's top arms throughout the season, ranking eighth in ERA (3.53), 10th in WHIP (1.22) and fourth in strikeout rate (23.6 percent). His dominance in the latter category gives him plenty of fantasy upside, especially against the Giants and their eighth-ranked lineup. The righty had gone somewhat cold from late May through mid-June, but he's pitched better lately, posting a 2.86 ERA over his last five starts.

Tyler Wilson ($8,000) hasn't been at his best this season and has seen his ERA rise to 4.20 after it came in at 3.07 and 2.92 in his first two KBO seasons. Much of that damage was done in his first start of the year, however, as he owns a solid 3.62 ERA in his 13 starts since that point. He doesn't have much strikeout upside, as his 17.1 percent mark in that category isn't particularly impressive, but he should have a high floor Sunday against the league-worst Eagles lineup.

Top Targets

The Bears' lineup is deep enough that Kyoung Min Hur ($4,700) regularly bats sixth, but he's hit more than well enough to be worth his price tag even out of that spot. The last time he went hitless was all the way back in the month of June. Over his 23-game hitting streak, he owns a .489/.536/.545 slash line. He hasn't homered over that stretch but has added six steals. Unlike his top left-handed teammates, he'll get the platoon advantage Sunday against Dinos southpaw Sung Young Choi, who owns a 5.21 ERA and a 1.53 WHIP this season.

Baek Ho Kang ($5,200) wasn't at his best for much of July, hitting just .174/.235/.283 over a 12-game stretch from July 10 through July 26. He appears to be crawling out of his slump, though, grabbing four hits over his last three games. The 21-year-old is a highly-talented young hitter, posting a .299/.383/.533 slash line with 12 homers in 56 games. His .916 OPS exactly matches his mark from last season, though he's traded in a drop in on-base percentage for a 38-point rise in slugging, as his home run total is already just one shy of his number from last season. He'll get the platoon advantage against Wyverns righty Ricardo Pinto, who owns a 5.03 ERA, a 1.76 WHIP and a 45:45 K:BB this season.

Bargain Bats

Eun Sung Chae ($3,300) has been on fire in five games since returning from a brief trip to the minors to rediscover his swing, hitting .440/.462/.680 with two homers and a ridiculous 16 RBI, eight of which came in his first game back at the KBO level. His overall .279/.339/.419 season slash line remains modest, but that's held back by an awful 13-game stretch in which he posted a .344 OPS, a stretch which immediately followed his return from an ankle injury and which doesn't seem to reflect his talent level. He'll get the platoon advantage against Eagles lefty Chad Bell, who's struggled to a 7.44 ERA and a 1.84 WHIP in nine starts this season.

Tae In Chae ($2,200) may not be the player he was in his youth, though his .909 OPS in a limited sample of 88 plate appearances thus far this season would be his best mark since 2013. He's been particularly hot over his last eight games, hitting .381/.519/.714 with a pair of homers. While the Wyverns have struggled offensively over their last three games, scoring a total of two runs, they've been overall a stronger unit since Dong Min Han returned from a bruised shin in mid-July. They should be able to break out of their slump against Wiz righty Min Soo Kim, who owns a 6.16 ERA and a 1.79 WHIP on the season.

Stacks

Heroes vs. Sung Hwan Yoon: Addison Russell ($3,700), Ha Seong Kim ($6,100), Jung Hoo Lee ($5,300)

The Heroes offense has been on fire lately, averaging eight runs per game over a four-game stretch even before putting up 22 on Saturday. Yoon seems quite unlikely to shut them down. The 38-year-old is making just his second start of the season and was lit up for six runs in just two innings in his previous outing back in mid-May. He owns a solid 3.60 ERA in 30 Futures League innings but has struck out just 13 batters, so he's unlikely to give the Heroes' more established hitters any trouble here. The Heroes won't even need the league's most hitter-friendly park to make them worth stacking in this one, but it certainly doesn't hurt.

Russell has seen his price rise by $1,200 since his KBO debut Tuesday, though he's still quite underpriced. He was a below-average hitter during his five-year MLB career, though his 87 wRC+ was respectable enough, and the mere fact that he's played so many games at the highest level in the world should make him one of the top hitters in the KBO right away. He's certainly looked like one thus far, hitting .400 with a homer and six RBI through his first four games.

Kim has been shifted to third base upon Russell's arrival but has held onto the number two spot in the order, right in front of his new teammate. He's been one of the top hitters in the league throughout the season at any position, let alone shortstop, as he's hitting .293 while sitting tied for fifth in homers (17) and tied for seventh in steals (11). He's been extra hot over his last 10 games, hitting .400/.489/.650 with three homers, 10 RBI and an incredible 17 runs scored.

Lee follows Russell and Kim out of the cleanup spot and will get the platoon advantage against the right-handed Yoon. He trails only Mel Rojas Jr. in OPS this season, posting a 1.024 mark, the product of a .358/.416/.608 slash line. While he's still a contact-over-power hitter, he's developed a fair amount of power in his age-21 season, as his 12 homers are already double his previous career high. It's quite possible that there's plenty more power still to come from the young outfielder, as he leads the league with 28 doubles, three more than anyone else has managed thus far.

Tigers vs. Kyung Eun Noh: Preston Tucker ($5,900), Hyung Woo Choi ($4,600), Chang Jin Lee ($3,200)

Noh had some effective seasons early in his career, but at age 36, he's well past his prime. He was out of the league entirely last season, pitching in Australia. He hasn't looked like a KBO pitcher since his return, posting a 5.82 ERA through nine starts and one relief appearance. He's been even worse in his two appearances since returning from a one-month absence due to a wrist injury, giving up eight runs (seven earned) on 13 hits in just six innings while failing to strike out a single batter.

Tucker has been quite streaky this season, and while he doesn't appear to be on one of his hot streaks at the moment, he's not hitting poorly, posting a .280/.419/.360 slash line over his last seven games. He'll get the platoon advantage against a struggling righty in this one, which should give him a great opportunity to kickstart a new run. When Tucker is on his game, he's one of the best hitters in the KBO, and he fits into that category over the course of the season even when his cold streaks are factored in, as there's nothing wrong with his .301/.394/.560 slash line or 16 home runs.

If you're grabbing just one Tiger, Choi may be the one to get, as the gap in price between him and Tucker is larger than their gap in production. Over the course of the year, he's hitting .313/.411/.494 with 10 homers. His .887 OPS in July fell short of his 1.065 mark in the month of June but is still high enough to justify his second-tier price. The 36-year-old slugger has quite a long track record of success, as the last time he finished with an OPS below .900 came all the way back in 2012.

The Tigers don't have a third lefty who regularly hits in the top half of the order, but Lee appears to be a strong value even without the platoon advantage. A back injury prevented him from making his season debut until early July, but he's swung a hot bat since his return, hitting .351/.429/.473. He's yet to hit a homer, but power isn't really part of his game, as he hit just six last year while posted a solid .270/.367/.382 slash line. The leadoff man should have plenty of opportunities to be driven in by Tucker and Choi in htis one.