DFS KBO: Sunday Cheat Sheet

The two biggest offensive explosions in the KBO on Saturday were not part of DraftKings' slate, as the Wiz and Dinos both managed 12 runs in the nightcaps of their doubleheaders against the Twins and Lions, respectively. In the games that were part of the slate, the Giants were the top fantasy team, leading the way with 10 runs against the Eagles, including four homers, while Seung Heon Lee struck out six over six shutout innings. The Wyverns put nine runs past the Heroes, with Jamie Romak leading the way by homering and reaching base four times. The Twins didn't seem to miss Roberto Ramos (ankle), scoring seven runs against the Wiz, led by three hits from Ji Hwan Oh, as Casey Kelly threw seven strong innings and struck out seven while allowing just two runs to pick up the win. Elsewhere, the Bears moved back into first place with a 7-2 win over the Tigers as Jae Il Oh bounced back from a slump to reach base four times and drive in three runs, while the Lions and Dinos split the first half of their doubleheader 6-6, with Hae Min Park leading the way by grabbing three hits and a homer.

Sunday's slate, which remains at the earlier time of 1 a.m. ET, is quite deep at the top of the pitcher pool, though there are plenty of options to stack against as well.

Pitchers

Drew Rucinski ($10,200) is quite a strong option atop this group of starters. He's been one of the KBO's top pitchers throughout the season, as his 3.00 ERA and 1.22 WHIP indicate. Those numbers are backed by a strong combination of a 21.8 percent strikeout rate and a 7.4 percent walk rate and have helped him to 17 wins, two more than anyone else in the league. He went through a bit of a rough patch from late July through late August, struggling to a 7.33 ERA and a 1.89 WHIP over a five-start stretch, but he appears to be back on track now. In his last six starts, he owns a 2.33 ERA and a 1.06 WHIP, striking out 41 batters in 38.2 innings. He should stay hot Sunday against the eighth-ranked Lions lineup.

Jake Brigham ($10,000) is deservedly priced quite close to Rucinski, and the decision between these two co-headliners won't be an easy one. After cruising to a 2.96 ERA last season, the veteran righty struggled to start this year, posting a 4.91 ERA over his first eight starts while missing time due to elbow issues. In his last nine starts, however, he's allowed more than two runs just twice, cruising to a 3.18 ERA while striking out 55 batters in 51 innings. One of his two poor starts came his last time out, however, as he allowed four runs in 3.2 innings against a mediocre Tigers lineup. That does add a bit of risk to his profile Sunday, though he probably won't have to be at his best to post strong numbers against the ninth-ranked Wyverns lineup.

Among the day's cheapest options, Adrian Sampson ($5,700) certainly merits consideration. That would have been a surprising sentence to read as recently as late August, as he owned a 6.79 ERA and a 1.74 WHIP through his first 13 starts. He's been much better over his last six outings, however, posting a 3.82 ERA and a 1.27 WHIP while allowing more than three runs just once. He's struck out just 20 batters in 35.1 innings over that stretch and has just a 14.2 percent strikeout rate on the year, which does hurt his upside, but he's still a solid budget option considering he gets to face the last-ranked Eagles offense.

Top Targets

The Wiz have in theory a difficult matchup against Tyler Wilson, but it's tough to be too scared of a pitcher who owns a 6.25 ERA over his last six starts. That's certainly not the kind of recent performance that should make you afraid to select MVP favorite Mel Rojas Jr. ($5,700). Rojas dominates the leaderboards, sitting first in homers (41), RBI (117) and OPS (1.085). He has a very legitimate shot at the Triple Crown, as his .346 batting average is within striking distance of Ah Seop Son's league-leading mark of .350. He's been on a tear over his last six contests, going 10-for-25 with four homers.

The Bears just missed being one of today's stack recommendations, but I'd certainly be interested in a few of their top bats against Tigers righty Ki Young Im, who owns a 7.63 ERA over his last 10 starts. Jae Hwan Kim ($5,100) looks like the best one to grab if you grab just one. While most of the Bears have been slumping for the past few weeks, Kim has been hitting quite well. In his last 15 games, he's homered five times and driven in 14 runs while hitting .255/.371/.667.

Bargain Bats

Hee Dong Kwon ($2,900) didn't fit into the Dinos stack listed below, primarily due to his lineup position (second) not being close enough to the rest of the stack. Coming this cheap while occupying a key spot in the league's best lineup makes him a very solid choice with or without his teammates, however. He's had an up and down season, but he's been on a good run lately, hitting .273/.432/.485 over his last 11 games. Given the matchup against a likely bullpen game for the Lions, there's a lot to like here at a very inexpensive price.

While Adrian Sampson was mentioned above as a decent cheap option, he's certainly not intimidating enough to scare anyone away from the Eagles hitters, if you happen to find anyone in that lineup worth selecting. 19-year-old Si Hwan Noh ($3,100) remains cheap and fairly interesting. It's possible he's fading back into irrelevance, as he's gone hitless in his last two games, though that immediately followed a 10-game stretch in which he hit .378/.477/.730 with a pair of homers, 10 runs scored and eight more driven in. He's eligible at both second and third base and is worth a look as a cheap option at either position.

Stacks to Consider

Dinos vs. Pil Joon Jang: Eui Ji Yang ($5,800), Aaron Altherr ($4,900), Suk Min Park ($3,800)

The Dinos are nearly always a compelling stack option, and that's as true as ever Sunday against the veteran righty Jang. The 32-year-old has made just two starts in his KBO career, with the most recent one coming back in 2016. Jang has topped out at 35 pitches this season, meaning this is probably a bullpen game for the Lions. That's too bad for the Dinos, as they'd likely love to see Jang in there for quite a while considering he owns an 8.18 ERA and a 1.95 WHIP on the season and has a 13.50 ERA and a 2.85 ERA since the start of September. Facing the Lions' relievers all game isn't exactly a bad thing either, however, as that group was called upon to throw 7.1 innings across both halves of Saturday's doubleheader.

I've made the potentially controversial decision to leave star slugger Sung Bum Na ($6,000) out of this stack, but I can't help but be nervous about paying that much for someone who's gone 0-for-13 with nine strikeouts in his last three games. Yang is more than capable of leading this stack on his own, however. His .332/.413/.584 season slash line dominates the catcher pool, though those numbers would play even as a designated hitter, as his .997 OPS ranks third among qualified hitters. He's shown no signs of slowing down, hitting .404/.477/.789 with six homers over his last 15 games.

Skipping Na makes it easier to fit in Altherr, who's hitting the ball quite well lately. In his last seven games, he's homered five times while slashing .304/.448/1.043. Those homers give him 29 on the season, tied for fourth in the league. He's also stolen 20 bases, tying him for sixth. Among the 15 other hitters who have launched at least 18 homers, only Ha Seong Kim (21 steals) has swiped more than seven bags. That rare power-speed combination keeps Altherr a very valuable fantasy asset despite the fact that he remains stuck in the bottom third of the order.

Park isn't one of the Dinos' biggest bats at this stage in his career, but he has several advantages here. He's fairly cheap, competes at a shallow third-base pool and will likely bat sixth, bridging the gap nicely between cleanup man Yang and Altherr, who will likely bat seventh or eighth. Additionally, he's been very hot over his last 13 games, hitting .450/.574/.575. He's demonstrated remarkable control over the zone over that stretch, walking 12 times against just two strikeouts.

Giants vs. Joo Hong Park: Jun Woo Jeon ($4,400), Dae Ho Lee ($4,300), Yoon Suk Oh ($2,800)

The Giants aren't one of the league's most intimidating offenses, but the heavily right-handed group should be in for a big day against a lefty as weak as Park. The 21-year-old has thrown 70.1 innings over the last three seasons and hasn't been anything close to successful, as he owns a career 8.32 ERA and a 1.89 WHIP. Things haven't gone any better for him this year, as he owns a 8.77 ERA and a 1.65 WHIP in 13.1 innings. That's a tiny sample, of course, but given that it's right in line with his previous numbers, there's little reason to believe it isn't representative. He's been particularly awful when starting a game, as he's allowed 11 runs in 7.2 innings while striking out five and walking six in his two opportunities so far this year.

The Giants have a number of similarly good but not elite bats throughout their lineup, but we'll go with the likely first three righties here against a shaky southpaw. 34-year-old Jeon doesn't seem to be fading much in the latter stages of his career, as four of his best five seasons in terms of OPS have come in the last four years. His .284/.347/.478 line on the season is quite solid, and he's hit 21 homers, one shy of his total of 22 from last season in 21 fewer games.

At age 38, Lee has four years on Jeon, but he's remained a capable hitter in the latter stages of his career as well. While he's nowhere close to the 44 homers and 1.111 OPS he recorded back at his peak a full decade ago, his .286/.361/.443 line and 16 homers are both perfectly serviceable. He's shown no signs of fading down the stretch, as he's hitting .313/.361/.438 with nine RBI over his last eight games.

Oh doesn't have nearly the track record of his aforementioned teammates, as he'd accomplished very little in his 277 career plate appearances prior to this season. He's spent much of this year in the minors, appearing in just 44 games, but he suddenly has a key role, leading off in five straight contests. It's hard to say he shouldn't have that job, as he's hitting .324/.435/.422 on the season and .419/.525/.613 over his last nine games. That's quite an impressive performance given his very low price.