This article is part of our DraftKings KBO series.
Pitching dominated Wednesday's slate, with seven of the 10 teams scoring no more than three runs. Chang Mo Koo and Chris Flexen had probably the duel of the season for the Dinos and Bears, with each starter throwing eight innings of one-run ball while allowing a combined six hits. The Bears eventually won with an 11th-inning walkoff single from pinch hitter Se Hyuk Park, handing the Dinos just their second loss of the season. At the other end of the standings, the Wyverns ended their 10-game losing streak to grab their second win of the season with a 5-3 win over the Heroes. Thursday's slate could be a more high-scoring affair, as every team is trotting out one of their backend starters. Stack options seem to be far easier to find than top-tier pitchers, but there should be the opportunity to go fairly cheap at pitcher to fit in more elite bats.
Pitchers
Thursday's slate is short on elite arms, but Hyun Hee Han ($7,700 DraftKings, $24 FanDuel as "Kiwoom Starting P") looks like one of the best available despite his moderate price. His 3.41 ERA and 1.21 WHIP last season come with the caveat that he spent the entire year in the bullpen, but he's looked pretty good in two starts this season. Both his 22.4 percent strikeout rate and 6.1 percent walk rate are quite strong, though a .406 BABIP has led to an unremarkable 4.09 ERA and 1.55 WHIP. That bad luck could end Thursday against
Pitching dominated Wednesday's slate, with seven of the 10 teams scoring no more than three runs. Chang Mo Koo and Chris Flexen had probably the duel of the season for the Dinos and Bears, with each starter throwing eight innings of one-run ball while allowing a combined six hits. The Bears eventually won with an 11th-inning walkoff single from pinch hitter Se Hyuk Park, handing the Dinos just their second loss of the season. At the other end of the standings, the Wyverns ended their 10-game losing streak to grab their second win of the season with a 5-3 win over the Heroes. Thursday's slate could be a more high-scoring affair, as every team is trotting out one of their backend starters. Stack options seem to be far easier to find than top-tier pitchers, but there should be the opportunity to go fairly cheap at pitcher to fit in more elite bats.
Pitchers
Thursday's slate is short on elite arms, but Hyun Hee Han ($7,700 DraftKings, $24 FanDuel as "Kiwoom Starting P") looks like one of the best available despite his moderate price. His 3.41 ERA and 1.21 WHIP last season come with the caveat that he spent the entire year in the bullpen, but he's looked pretty good in two starts this season. Both his 22.4 percent strikeout rate and 6.1 percent walk rate are quite strong, though a .406 BABIP has led to an unremarkable 4.09 ERA and 1.55 WHIP. That bad luck could end Thursday against a Wyverns team that ranks last in scoring with 3.5 runs per game.
On the opposite side of that same contest, Seung Won Moon ($8,800 DraftKings, $24 FanDuel) is also a very viable option. The Wyverns' struggling offense does hurt his chances at a win, but the Heroes' lineup hasn't been all that imposing this season, ranking sixth in offense with 5.0 runs per game. Moon's 3.88 ERA last season was certainly helped by a .250 BABIP, but his combination of a roughly average 16.9 percent strikeout rate and a low 5.6 percent walk rate was a good one. His 14:1 K:BB through 11.2 innings this season is also quite promising.
Se Woong Park ($6,200 DraftKings, $27 FanDuel as "Lotte Starting P") doesn't seem worth it as the most expensive pitcher on FanDuel, but he's worth a look as the second-cheapest option on DraftKings. His numbers don't jump off the page, but his 4.20 ERA was almost exactly average last year, and it could have been better if not for a .326 BABIP and 66.0 percent strand rate. Against a Tigers offense that ranks seventh in scoring this season, that's more than enough to justify him as a budget option.
Top Targets
There will rarely be a better use of DraftKings' catcher spot than Eui Ji Yang ($5,000 DraftKings, $13 FanDuel), who's a strong enough hitter that he's also worth a look on FanDuel, where he counts as a generic infielder. Last year's MVP runner-up is off to a hot start, hitting .317/.417/.537 through 12 games, though there's still room for improvement, as he managed a 1.018 OPS in each of the last two seasons. He'll get the platoon advantage against Bears lefty Hui Kwan Yu, whose 3.25 ERA last season looks hard to repeat giving his 9.3 percent strikeout rate. Yu hasn't looked good through his first two starts, striking out four while walking five en route to a 5.00 ERA and 2.11 WHIP.
Ja Wook Koo ($4,700 DraftKings, $9 FanDuel) fits in the "Bargain Bats" section on FanDuel, but he's listed here because he's worth a look even at his more expensive DraftKings price. He's started the season quite strongly, hitting .357/.438/.607 while stealing three bases. He isn't helped by the fact that the Lions' offense is overall quite poor, ranking eighth in scoring this season, but that should be somewhat canceled out by his team's hitter-friendly home park. He'll be facing completely unproven Twins' righty Min Ho Lee, who's thrown just four innings in his KBO career.
Bargain Bats
Ah Seop Son ($3,500 DraftKings, $13 FanDuel) is a mid-priced option on both sites but looks like a bargain against Tigers' righty Ki Young Im, whose 5.62 ERA through his first two starts looks a whole lot like his 5.73 ERA from last season. Son, who hits third in the majority of Giants games, has come out of the gate strong this season, hitting .366/.527/.488. That on-base prowess has helped him score 12 times in 13 games, which shouldn't be too much of a surprise given he's broken the 100-run plateau four times in his career.
Dinos starter Jae Hak Lee, who recorded a 3.75 ERA and 1.36 WHIP last season, looks good enough for me to avoid recommending the Bears' most expensive bats, but I still like the idea of grabbing Joo Hwan Choi ($2,200 DraftKings, $11 FanDuel) as a cheap way to buy a piece of one of the league's strongest lineups. He's especially interesting on DraftKings, where he's incredibly cheap and has second-base eligibility. After seeing his OPS plummet from .985 in 2018 to .709 last season as league-wide offense collapsed, he's right back to his previous form this year, posting a .964 OPS with three homers in his first 12 games.
Stacks to Consider
Twins vs. Tae In Won: Roberto Ramos ($3,100 DraftKings, $16 FanDuel), Hyun Soo Kim ($5,200 DraftKings, $14 FanDuel), Chun Woong Lee ($3,400 DraftKings, $12 FanDuel)
What do you get when you cross a mediocre starting pitcher with the most hitter-friendly park in the league? We'll find out Thursday, but the answer is probably "a lot of runs." Won held his own as a 19-year-old rookie last season, but his 4.82 ERA and 1.41 WHIP in 112 innings are far from intimidating. He struggled to put hitters away, posting a low 13.8 percent strikeout rate. That's a problem at Daegu Samsung Lions Park, where balls fly out of the yard. The Twins have had the league's third-best offense and could be in for a double-digit performance in this game.
Ramos remains mysteriously cheap on DraftKings, but he's worth strong consideration even on FanDuel, where he's one of the slate's most expensive hitters. The first baseman owns an incredible .395/.500/.907 slash line through his first 13 games, leading the league in slugging, OPS (1.407), and homers (six). It's very hard to justify not owning the league's best power hitter in the league's most hitter-friendly park.
Kim doesn't have Ramos' pop, hitting just one homer, but he does plenty of damage with his bat nonetheless. He owns a .370/.404/.574 slash line, scoring 11 times and driving in nine runs. It's taken a .404 BABIP to get him to that mark, but that might regress less than you'd think, as he's managed a BABIP of at least .320 in seven of 10 KBO seasons, including at least .367 three times.
Lee rounds out the stack as a more mid-priced option. The Twins' leadoff man has been the beneficiary of his teammates' big bats this season, scoring 14 times in 13 games. He's been a solid option even without that help, as he's hitting .340 with four steals after hitting .308 and swiping 21 bags last season.
Wiz vs. Ee Whan Kim: Baek Ho Kang ($5,900 DraftKings, $15 FanDuel), Mel Rojas ($6,000 DraftKings, $15 FanDuel), Yong Ho Jo ($2,800 DraftKings, $6 FanDuel)
The Wiz earn their second mention here in the last three days. The league-leading offense has scored the day's most runs in both games this week and has scored eight or more runs in five straight contests. They'll have the chance to make that six straight against the 19-year-old Kim. The young righty's 1.64 ERA and 1.27 WHIP through his first two starts are both quite strong, but it looks to be a mirage, as his 5:5 K:BB isn't anywhere close to good. It's possible he's a rare pitcher who can reliably outperform his peripherals, as he managed a respectable 4.26 ERA in his 38-inning debut last year despite an awful 15:21 K:BB, but it's going to take a lot more than 49 career innings for me to be convinced that's the case.
Kang is a good inclusion nearly every day, and that's as true here as ever. The 20-year-old has a hit in all 13 games this season, with five going over the fence. He's been right in the middle of seemingly every big game the Wiz have had this season, scoring 13 times and driving in 14 runs.
Rojas, as usual, makes for an expensive-but-excellent pair with Kang. He has a modest two homers on the season, but each part of his .436/.475/.655 slash line is quite strong. If you can only fit one of Kang or Rojas in your lineup, Rojas would be the one to drop, as he's somewhat mysteriously been stuck batting fifth in the majority of games this season despite his impressive numbers.
Jo has emerged as the Wiz's DH and No. 3 hitter in the absence of Han Joon Yoo (thigh), starting the last three games in that spot. He's been excellent in a very small sample of 26 plate appearances this season, hitting .565/.600/.652. He earns a mention here more for his lineup position, teammates and park than his own talent, as he doesn't have much of a KBO track record at all -- he's 30 years old and had only played 172 largely unremarkable KBO games prior to this season. Still, his lack of experience is reflected in his price, allowing you to fit in more expensive options elsewhere.
