DFS KBO: Sunday Cheat Sheet

Saturday's KBO slate saw the league's two worst teams get shut out. It wasn't particularly surprising to see Aaron Brooks dominate the Eagles, striking out nine while allowing just three hits and no walks in seven scoreless innings as the Tigers won 8-0. Je Seong Bae's 5.1 scoreless frames against the Wyverns were considerably more surprising, and while his 1:4 K:BB wasn't particularly good, he did allow just two hits as Jae Gyun Hwang reached base five times in the Wiz's 5-0 win. We also saw a very strong performance from Giants righty Se Woong Park, who held the Dinos scoreless in seven innings, allowing just five hits in his team's 5-1 win. The league leaders' loss gave the Heroes the opportunity to move back to just one game out with a win, which they managed in narrow fashion, defeating the Lions 8-7, with Jung Hoo Lee leading the way with three hits and three RBI. Elsewhere, in the lone game featuring two playoff teams, the Twins defeated their local rivals, the Bears, by a 9-6 score, with Eun Sung Chae going 4-for-4 with a homer in his first game back from a side injury. 

Sunday's slate begins bright and early at 1 a.m. ET and features quite a large number of very unproven pitchers alongside four former MLB arms. Note that the Dinos and Giants have a doubleheader, but only the first of the two games is included on DraftKings.

Pitchers

Raul Alcantara ($11,100) will eat up quite a large portion of your budget, but it's hard to argue that he's overpriced. After posting a forgettable 4.01 ERA with a very low 13.8 percent strikeout rate in his debut KBO campaign last year, he looked like a mediocre option again at the start of this season, posting a 4.63 ERA and a 1.49 WHIP over his first six starts. Suddenly, the switch flipped, and he's tossed 16 quality starts in his last 17 trips to the mound, posting a 2.18 ERA and a 0.98 WHIP. His excellent combination of a 21.7 percent strikeout rate and 3.9 percent walk rate back up his dominant performance and give reason to trust him even against a strong Twins lineup.

This slate features a trio of strong but not necessarily reliable foreign starters behind Alcantra, but David Buchanan ($8,200) is both cheaper than Odrisamer Despaigne and Mike Wright and hasn't shared their recent struggles. He doesn't have a particularly easy matchup against the fifth-ranked Heroes lineup in the league's most hitter-friendly park, but there's enough in his profile to make him interesting nonetheless. While he's been the victim of the occasional blowup, allowing eight or more runs on three separate occasions, the fact that he owns a 3.59 ERA and a 1.28 WHIP despite those outings indicates how strong he usually is. His low 15.6 percent strikeout rate would seem to cap his fantasy upside, though he's whiffing more batters lately, striking out 21 in 21 innings over his last three starts, posting a 2.14 ERA and a 1.19 WHIP over that stretch.

The five cheapest options on the slate are all either completely unproven or have been quite bad, but Min Woo Kim ($7,800) looks like a decent mid-tier option. The righty's 4.12 ERA and 1.39 WHIP are decent enough marks, but it's his 21.3 percent strikeout rate that gives him plenty of fantasy upside. His 11.4 percent walk rate has offset that, making him a mediocre pitcher overall, but that's factored into his price. He's been on quite a strikeout streak lately, whiffing 30 batters in 22.1 innings over his last four starts, a stretch in which he owns a 3.22 ERA and a 1.16 WHIP. While the Tigers lineup he'll face Sunday has hit better lately, it still ranks sixth in runs per game.

Top Targets

Jae Gyun Hwang ($5,600) has been arguably the Wiz's hottest hitter lately, quite an impressive feat on a team which also includes Mel Rojas Jr. He has a pair of three-hit games in his last three contests, though his hot streak extends far longer than that. In his last 19 games, he owns a .397/.464/.644 slash line, scoring 21 runs while driving in 17 more. A Wiz stack is worth a look against Wyverns righty Young Woo Jo, who owns a 5.76 ERA and an 11.0 percent strikeout rate, but if you include just one, Hwang looks like the top option, especially as he's eligible at the relatively shallow position of third base. 

The Bears were on my shortlist for stack recommendations for this piece, as they'll face Twins lefty Woo Chan Lee, who owns a career 5.92 ERA and has thrown a single inning this season, though the fact that several of their top hitters will be at a platoon disadvantage led me to turn elsewhere. Right-handed leadoff man Kun Woo Park ($4,400) is certainly worth a look, however. He hasn't been at his best in September, though he now has at least one hit in six straight starts, including going 2-for-5 with a double and three RBI Saturday. On the season as a whole, he's hitting a strong .297/.363/.473, with his prime spot in one of the league's best lineups helping him score 86 runs, good for fourth in the league.

Bargain Bats

Mike Wright is considerably more talented than the bottom tier of pitchers on this slate, but he's allowed 11 runs in 12 innings with a 3:6 K:BB in his last two starts, so the Giants' top bats are certainly worth a look here. Ah Seop Son ($3,600) is the lone member of that group who will get the platoon advantage and should be a strong option. He's swung quite a hot bat for over a month, hitting .400/.422/.541 over his last 26 games, striking out just three times over that stretch. He's been not too far from that level over the course of the season, hitting .348/.412/.480 while striking out in just 9.2 percent of his trips to the plate.

In a familiar refrain, the Eagles face one of the worst pitchers on the slate in Tigers lefty Ki Hoon Kim, who owns a 6.95 ERA and a 1.77 WHIP, but they simply don't have enough reliable hitters than I can recommend stacking them. It could be time to take another chance on Brandon Barnes ($3,600) given that he'll have the platoon advantage in a very friendly matchup, however. It's safe to say that he hasn't provided what the Eagles were looking for from their foreign hitter slot, striking out 30.1 percent of the time while hitting .217/.318/.322. He's now played 41 games, so we're starting to reach the point where he may no longer deserve the benefit of the doubt that comes with being a former MLB player. He's at least grabbed a hit in three straight games, however, and there's a good chance that run continues here given the matchup.

Stacks to Consider

Dinos vs. Seung Heon Lee: Eui Ji Yang ($5,800), Min Woo Park ($5,300), Aaron Altherr ($5,000)

There are far more appealing stacks than usual Sunday, but we may as well start with the best lineup in the league. The Dinos' bats have cooled off lately, as they've averaged 3.9 runs per game over their last seven contests, but a matchup against a young righty who's allowed 10 runs in 4.1 career KBO innings seems like a great opportunity to get back on track. Lee was the third-overall pick in the 2018 draft but has yet to demonstrate his potential, making one brief, unimpressive start both last year and this year. To be fair to him, he owns a 1.69 ERA and a 17:2 K:BB in 16 Futures League innings, but the Dinos still look quite good against him given that he's yet to show anything at the KBO level.

The absence of Sung Bum Na (hamstring) does rob the Dinos' lineup of one of the top hitters in the league, but they have well more than enough star power to make this a worthwhile stack. Yang is very much capable of carrying a lineup. His .327/.405/.574 season slash line would be excellent at any position, let alone catcher, but it practically counts as a disappointment given his own ridiculous standards, as he posted an OPS over 1.000 in each of the last two seasons. He's been in peak form since mid-August, however, hitting .412/.474/.714 over his last 32 games.

Park has moved back from leadoff to the number three spot in Na's absence, and while he doesn't have the stereotypical power for that role, homering just three times all season, he's undeniably a talented hitter. On the season overall, he's hitting .337/.394/.456. He's been even better in 24 games since returning from a hamstring injury in late August, however, going hitless just twice while posting a .379/.450/.495 slash line.

Including the third and fourth hitters while jumping all the way down to the eighth spot makes this an usual stack, but Altherr isn't your typical number eight hitter. It remains something of a mystery that he typically bats so low, as he's been one of the best hitters in the league, posting a .297/.369/.569 slash line. He's been even better than that over his last 22 games, hitting .351/.435/.623 with five homers and three steals. He's one of the most well-rounded players in the league, as he's tied for sixth with 24 homers and tied for eighth with 17 steals, all while playing center field.

Lions vs. Young Gun Jo: Ja Wook Koo ($4,500), Daniel Palka ($3,000), Dong Yeop Kim ($2,700)

Just looking at his ERA and WHIP, Jo has been poor but not awful this season, posting marks of 5.12 and 1.55, respectively. You don't have to dig all that much deeper to see just how much he's struggled, however, as he's struck out just 10.3 percent of opposing batters while walking 12.6 percent. He's also allowed more than his fair share of homers, giving up 1.4 HR/9. He owned an awful 8.05 ERA and a 2.11 WHIP when he was removed from the rotation in early July. After a period in the bullpen, he returned to the rotation in September and has looked better in his last three outings (one of which came in relief), though his 2.13 ERA and 0.95 WHIP this month come with a 5:6 K:BB, which hardly suggests he's suddenly a different pitcher. Even a mediocre lineup like the Lions' eighth-ranked unit should have their way with him at the league's most hitter-friendly park here.

Jo may not pitch too deep into this contest (he's competed four innings in just three of his eight starts), but he may as well lead with the left-handed bats here. Koo has been one of the best hitters in the league this season in everything except the power department. He's hit a modest 11 homers, but his overall .318/.393/.482 slash line is quite strong, and he's also chipped in with 14 steals. He's been quite good over his last 15 games, posting a .350/.409/.617 slash line with three homers.

Palka follows Koo out of the cleanup spot, giving the Lions, at least in theory, a pair of strong lefties in the heart of the order. Things haven't exactly worked out for the former Chicago White Sox slugger in his first 22 games overseas, however, as he owns a modest .212/.289/.388 slash line. He's still firmly in the territory where he deserves the benefit of the doubt given his credentials, however, as he's far too cheap for a player who's spent time at the highest level in the world even if he's been unconvincing in what's still less than a month worth of games for his new team.

Kim follows Koo and Palka as the number five hitter, and while he's the lone member of the trio who won't get the platoon advantage, he's also been the best of the bunch lately. That's something of a surprise given his early-season struggles, as he was demoted twice and had a .258/.295/.407 when he returned to the team in early August. Since that point, he's been one of the best hitters in the league, posting a .382/.407/.636 slash line with seven homers in 34 games. That performance is far out of line with his very cheap price, making him one of the best values on the slate.