This article is part of our DraftKings KBO series.
The second day of KBO action saw five more fast-paced games, with no game on the slate clocking in at longer than three hours and two minutes. Scoring remained steady, with teams averaging 3.9 runs per game for the second straight day, down noticeably from the league's average of 4.6 last season. Three former major leaguers helped keep that number down in their KBO debuts, with Ricardo Pinto, Mike Wright and Aaron Brooks each allowing two or fewer runs. Two more members will join that group Thursday, with David Buchanan taking the hill for the Lions and Chris Flexen on the mound for the Bears. It remains to be seen whether scoring will pick up as teams head towards the back half of their rotations.
PITCHERS
Note: FanDuel is using Team Starting Pitchers rather than individual starting pitchers, presumably to guard against last-minute changes which could occur at hours of the night when most reasonable Americans won't be checking their fantasy lineups.
Chang Mo Koo ($5,700 DraftKings, $24 FanDuel as "NC Starting P") faces a Lions offense that has been anemic, managing just three runs on eight hits through the first two games of the season. That's not too big of a surprise given the team's performance in 2019, as they finished second-last in hits and seventh out of 10 in runs. Koo could be a steal, especially at his very cheap DraftKings price, as he's coming off a season in which he posted a 3.20 ERA and 25.4 percent strikeout rate, well above the league average of 17.2 percent.
On the opposite side of that same contest, David Buchanan ($6,100 DraftKings, $23 FanDuel as "Samsung Starting P") will need the Lions' hitters to figure things out if he's to pick up a win, but he could be worth his relatively low price even without one. The 30-year-old had one good season and one bad one for the Phillies back in 2015 and 2016, recording a 5.01 ERA and very low 13.5 percent strikeout rate in 35 big-league starts. He then went on to post a 4.13 ERA over three seasons in Japan. After seeing consistently strong starts from foreign pitchers so far, it could be wise to bet on another one here, even against a Dinos lineup that has hit a league-leading five homers.
Won Tae Choi ($8,000 DraftKings, $24 FanDuel as "Kiwoom SP") faces a Tigers lineup that has shown no signs of improving on last year's poor showing. The Tigers finished second-last with 4.20 runs per game last season and have scored just four total runs this year. The 23-year-old Choi would be a worthy option regardless of who he was facing after he had a 3.38 ERA in 27 starts last year, his fourth season in the KBO.
TOP TARGETS
Expect Baek Ho Kang ($5,700 DraftKings, $14 FanDuel) to be a persistent feature in this section whenever he faces a mediocre right-handed starter. Giants starter Se Woong Park fits that bill, as his 4.20 ERA last season was fine but far from intimidating. The 20-year-old Kang, who hit .336/.419/.915 last season, has gone 2-for-7 with a homer through two games.
Jae Il Oh ($4,600 DraftKings, $15 FanDuel) saw his DraftKings price drop by $600 despite grabbing three hits in Wednesday's win. The veteran slugger provides a steady presence in the middle of a Bears lineup that finished second in the league with 5.11 runs per game last year.
VALUE PLAYS
Joo Hwan Choi ($2,900 DraftKings, $5 FanDuel) comes at the cheapest possible price on FanDuel and is quite cheap on DraftKings as well. That's a steal for a player who should bat near the middle of a strong Bears lineup. His power fell off as league-wide offense plummeted last season, but he still managed a respectable .277 batting average.
Hoon Jung ($2,300 DraftKings, $8 FanDuel) has been a part-time player for the Giants for the last few seasons, following up a strong .861 OPS in 2018 with a poor .615 OPS last season. He started both games this season and looked good, going 2-for-6 with a homer, three runs and four RBI. It won't cost much to see if he can keep that going Thursday.
STACKS
Wyverns vs. Shi Hwan Jang: Jamie Romak ($6,100 DraftKings, $15 FanDuel), Jong Wook Ko ($4,100 DraftKings, $12 FanDuel), Dong Min Han ($4,000 DraftKings, $11 FanDuel)
The Wyverns haven't quite gotten the bats going this season, but that could change against Jang. The veteran righty saw his ERA rise to 4.95 last season even as league-wide offense cratered with the new de-juiced ball. He struggled with his control, walking 10.2 percent of batters, leading to a 1.64 WHIP.
This could be the opportunity to shell out for Romak, who's the most expensive hitter on DraftKings and who's just one dollar shy of that title on FanDuel. The veteran Canadian couldn't quite break through at the MLB level, playing just 27 career games. He's been a star in Korea, however, posting a career .934 OPS while hitting 34.3 homers per season in his first three KBO campaigns.
Ko sat with a lefty on the mound Wednesday but hit second against the right-handed Warwick Saupold on Opening Day. Despite the de-juiced ball last season, the veteran saw his slash line rise across the board, as he hit .323/.348/.421. He also added 31 steals, good for third in the league.
Han leads all hitters with two home runs after hitting a pair of bombs in Wednesday's 5-2 victory. That's a good sign for the veteran, who saw his home-run total collapse dramatically from 41 in 2018 to 12 in 2019. That's seemingly a greater drop than can be explained by the de-juiced ball alone, but whether it was simply a down season or the effects of age for the 30-year-old remains to be seen.
Bears vs. Chan Gyu Lim: Jose Fernandez ($6,000 DraftKings, $16 FanDuel), Jae Il Oh ($4,600 DraftKings, $15 FanDuel), Joo Hwan Choi ($2,900 DraftKings, $5 FanDuel)
The Bears have only scored seven runs through two games, though their bats haven't been too quiet, as they're third in the league with 18 hits. If there's a game where they break out, it could be this one, as Lim isn't a particularly imposing pitcher. His 4.97 ERA in a swingman role last season was significantly worse than the league-average 4.17 mark, and he walked 11.7 percent of opposing batters.
Fernandez has the second-highest price among hitters on DraftKings and the highest on FanDuel, but he could be well worth it against Lim. He's managed two hits in both of his first two games, hardly a surprise after he led the league with 197 last season.
Oh joins his teammate with four hits through his first two games, adding two runs and two RBI. The slugging first baseman has hit at least 20 homers in four straight seasons and finished fourth in the league with 102 RBI last year. Oh has hit third in the lineup in both games this season.
Choi offers a much cheaper way to get a piece of the Bears' lineup and could pair nicely with his more expensive teammates. He sat against a lefty on Opening Day but hit fifth in Wednesday's win. He saw his numbers fall off with the de-juiced baseball last season but was excellent as recently as 2018, hitting .333/.403/.582 with 26 homers.
