DFS KBO: Thursday Cheat Sheet

Wednesday's slate saw three teams score 10 or more runs while four others were held to three runs or fewer. Players who stacked Twins, Lions or Dinos were likely happy with how things turned out (though the correct Lions stack ended up being very different from what was predicted here), as were those who went with Odrisamer Despaigne, Tae In Won or Hee Kwan Yoo as their pitcher, each of whom threw at least seven innings while allowing no more than one run. Thursday's slate looks like it should be a balanced one, with some teams rolling over to their aces while others are trotting out backend starters.

Pitchers

The best pitchers on Thursday's slate are deservedly the most expensive. Hyun Jong Yang ($9,600 DraftKings, $29 FanDuel as "Kia Starting P") leads the way on both sites and is far more expensive than the rest of the field on FanDuel. It's hard to argue against his price tag, however, considering that he finished third in MVP voting last season on the back of a 2.29 ERA and a 22.3 percent strikeout rate (quite high for the KBO). He stumbled in his first start this year but has since produced three straight quality starts, giving him a 3.43 ERA and a 1.14 WHIP on the season.The veteran lefty will face a Wiz lineup that's still potent but definitely less intimidating without Baek Ho Kang (wrist).

Warwick Saupold ($9,000 DraftKings, $26 FanDuel as "Hanwha Starting P") is the second-priciest pitcher on both platforms. He doesn't offer quite the same upside as Yang, as he's striking out just 13.8 percent of opposing batters this year after posting a 16.7 percent strikeout rate last year, but he's a strong option nonetheless. All four of his outings this season have been quality starts, leading to a 2.25 ERA and a 0.96 WHIP. The fourth-ranked Twins offense isn't the easiest assignment, though perhaps the biggest threat to Saupold's value comes from the Eagles' own anemic lineup, which has converted just two of his four quality starts to wins thus far.

Casey Kelly ($7,400 DraftKings, $23 FanDuel as "LG Starting P") will benefit from facing that weak Eagles' lineup. He's had one strong start, one poor one and one mediocre one thus far, giving him an unimpressive 5.79 ERA on the season. A date with the Eagles seems like a great opportunity to turn things around, though, and there's plenty of upside here based on his body of work in his KBO debut last year, when he cruised to a 2.55 ERA and a 1.14 WHIP

A quick note on Adrian Sampson ($8,000 DraftKings, $21 FanDuel as "Lotte Starting P"): The former big-leaguer could well be one of the more interesting arms in the league this season, but this isn't the day to select him. He'll be limited to just 50 pitches in this one, his KBO debut, as he's behind schedule due to the mandatory two-week quarantine for people entering South Korea from foreign countries, a process he had to undergo after traveling home to visit his ailing father.

Top Targets

I avoided recommending a Bears stack below, as it's typically a very expensive one and might be hard to fit in with the expensive pitchers listed above, but I'm still as interested as ever in Jose Fernandez ($6,200 DraftKings, $18 FanDuel) wherever I can find room for him. His season slash line remains a ludicrous .481/.523/.734, and the Bears' loaded lineup has helped him score 20 runs and drive in 20 more through 19 games. He'll get the platoon advantage against Wyverns righty Geon Wook Lee, a 25-year-old who's made a total of five KBO appearances in his career, all out of the bullpen.

The Giants were another team who just missed the cut for a stack recommendation on this slate, as they're facing 18-year-old lefty Yoon Dong Heo in his KBO debut. If you're grabbing just one Giant, right-handed number three hitter Jun Woo Jeon ($4,900 DraftKings, $14 FanDuel) is the one to go for. He's hitting .304/.337/.544 with four homers through his first 19 games and has hit .300 or better for three straight seasons, averaging 24.3 homers over that stretch.

Bargain Bats

If you're looking to add a second Bear, second baseman Jae Won Oh ($2,000 DraftKings, $7 FanDuel) is a cost-effective choice. He's moved into an everyday role in the absence of Jae Il Oh (side), batting fifth in six straight games. The 35-year-old is hitting .310/.356/.548 on the season, numbers which look far more like his .313/.370/.463 line from 2018 than his awful .164/.267/.271 mark in limited playing time last year.

Roberto Ramos ($3,700 DraftKings, $16 FanDuel) only belongs in this category on DraftKings, but he remains close to a "free square" on that site any time the Twins are facing a righty. Even the likes of Warwick Saupold aren't intimidating enough to scare me away from Ramos at his still confusingly cheap price. Saupold manages contact well, but he still allows quite a lot of it, and no one is making louder contact than Ramos at the moment. The 25-year-old is hitting .358/.449/.821 through his first 19 KBO games. He's homered in three straight, giving him nine on the season, three more than anyone else in the league.

Stacks to Consider

Dinos vs. Dae Hyun Jung: Eui Ji Yang ($4,800 DraftKings, $13 FanDuel), Jin Seong Kang ($2,600 DraftKings, $10 FanDuel), Suk Min Park ($3,800 DraftKings, $10 FanDuel)

Jung is one of five pitchers on the slate who didn't throw a single KBO inning last year. The 28-year-old lefty is by far the most experienced member of that group, spending parts of eight seasons in the league from 2010 to 2017. His track record in 363.2 career KBO innings isn't anywhere close to good, however, as he's struggled to a 6.63 ERA and a 1.78 WHIP while striking out just 12.9 percent of opposing batters and walking 11.4 percent. There's little reason to think he can slow down the Dinos' top bats in this one.

The Dinos have the two highest-earning catchers on DraftKings in Yang and Kang, and the choice there isn't an easy one. Yang is obviously far more expensive, but he has quite the track record. He finished as the MVP runner up last season on the back of an incredible .354/.443/.574 slash line, all great marks at any position, let alone catcher. The veteran has battled minor injuries throughout the season, but he started Wednesday and looked just fine, hitting a two-run homer.

Kang has been one of the stories of the season so far. He entered the season as a 26-year-old with just 117 largely unremarkable games under his belt, but he's emerged as an everyday player in the absence of first baseman Chang Min Mo (shoulder) and has hit so well that he moved all the way up to the cleanup spot in Tuesday's game. He got the day off Wednesday, which looked like it was going to ruin the lineups of those who were unable to update them in the middle of the night until he came off the bench to hit a three-run homer, giving him three on the season to go with his .476/.542/.905 slash line. He's quite possibly the hottest player in the league right now but is still priced as the relative nobody he was entering the year.

A lefty on the mound for the Heroes means we'll stay away from Sung-Bum Na ($4,200 DraftKings, $15 FanDuel) in this one in favor of another right-handed bat. Number five hitter Park fills that role well for a very reasonable price. His three hits and a homer Wednesday brought his season slash line up to .291/.400/.582. After three straight seasons with a more modest offensive output in his early 30s, Park's gone back to hitting like he did in his prime, where he recorded an OPS of .942 or better in five straight seasons from 2012 to 2016.

Tigers vs. Hyeong Jun So: Preston Tucker ($6,300 DraftKings, $16 FanDuel), Hyung Woo Choi ($5,400 DraftKings, $11 FanDuel), Sun Bin Kim ($4,000 DraftKings, $9 FanDuel)

As an 18-year-old rookie, So could well have a bright future ahead of him. He hasn't done much through his first three KBO starts to indicate he has a bright present, however, struggling to a 6.48 ERA and a 1.56 WHIP. Most of the damage to his ERA came his last time out, when the weak Eagles lineup scored eight runs off him in 5.1 innings, but his overall body of work isn't impressive even without that outing. He simply hasn't shown the ability to put hitters away, posting a worryingly low 7.9 percent strikeout rate.

Tucker is a great option anytime the Tigers face a righty, and he'll rarely face a friendlier matchup than this one. He's fallen off slightly after his incredibly hot start to the season, as he hasn't homered in any of his last eight games, but it's quite hard to complain about his overall .346/.427/.641 slash line. He appears to be bouncing back from going 0-for-15 against the Wyverns over the weekend, as he's grabbed three hits so far this series.

Choi's DraftKings price is a bit expensive for what he's done so far this year, though he has the track record to justify it. That's not to say the veteran slugger has been anything close to bad this season, as he's hitting .270/.400/.405 with a pair of homers. There could be more to come from the left-handed cleanup hitter, however, as he's posted an OPS above .900 for seven straight seasons.

The Tigers are short on lefties who hit near the top of the lineup, so we'll turn to a right-hander to complete this stack. Even without the platoon advantage, Kim is interesting on DraftKings for his ability to fill the shortstop slot and interesting on FanDuel for his cheap price. He's worth a look on both sites for his lineup position (second) and his talent, as he's hitting an excellent .355/.443/.421 to start the season.