DFS KBO: Thursday Cheat Sheet

Wednesday's KBO slate looked like it could be shaping up to be a high-scoring one, but while five teams scored at least six runs, no team scored more than seven. The Dinos lost for the fourth time in five games in the highest-scoring contest of the day, falling 7-6 to the Tigers after Mike Wright gave up seven runs. Meanwhile, the Bears dropped their fourth straight game, losing 6-3 to the resurgent Lions, a game in which Tyler Saladino homered and reached base four times. Jung Hoo Lee was another of the day's offensive stars, grabbing four hits in the Heroes' 4-3 win over the Giants, including a walkoff double. On the pitching side, Chan Gyu Lim had the best outing of the day, striking out eight Eagles while allowing just one run in six innings in the Twins' 7-1 win. Thursday's slate features quite a few top-tier starting pitchers, though that number could be reduced by a fair amount if the Dinos-Tigers and Twins-Eagles games get rained out, which appears to be a possibility as of writing.

Pitchers

The Dinos-Tigers game looks to be the contest most threatened by rain, but if it goes through as scheduled, Chang Mo Koo ($9,400 DraftKings, $30 FanDuel as "NC Starting P") is an excellent bet to justify his rather high price. He's been the best pitcher in the KBO this season by nearly every conceivable metric, allowing just four earned runs through his first seven starts. His 0.75 ERA and 0.69 WHIP are unlikely to remain quite that phenomenal over the course of the season, but his underlying numbers support the idea that he's been by far the best pitcher in the league, as he's struck out 30.1 percent of opposing batters (first among qualified starters) while walking just 6.4 percent. He'll face a Tigers team that ranks a modest sixth in scoring this season.

Tyler Wilson ($8,200 DraftKings, $26 FanDuel as "LG Starting P) could also see his start get washed away, though his game against the Eagles looks safer than the Dinos-Tigers contest. His 4.20 ERA isn't up to his standards from his first two KBO campaigns, when he recorded ERAs of 3.07 and 2.92, but he's having a solid season nonetheless, as both his 18.1 percent strikeout rate and 7.6 percent walk rate are better than league average. Even with considerably worse numbers, he'd still be worth a look against the anemic Eagles, who are back to their losing ways after winning twice against the Bears on Sunday. They've scored just 2.6 runs per game in June.

Dan Straily ($7,600 DraftKings, $28 FanDuel as "Lotte Starting P") remains confusingly cheap on DraftKings. His 2.08 ERA and 1.11 WHIP through eight starts are both excellent marks, though he's been even better in his last four outings, allowing a total of just two earned runs. The veteran righty was never much of a strikeout arm stateside, but his stuff has been more than enough to put KBO hitters away, as he's striking out 26.2 percent of opposing batters. He could certainly ask for an easier opponent than the Heroes, who rank fourth in runs per game, but he's allowed a total of just four earned runs in his four starts against top-half offenses, so he appears to be relatively matchup-proof.

A bonus fourth recommendation since the top two pitchers may see their games rained out: Jong Hoon Park ($7,700 DraftKings, $26 FanDuel as "SK Starting P") is putting together a solid season through his first seven starts, cruising to a 3.82 ERA and a 1.20 WHIP. Those numbers look sustainable for the 28-year-old, as he's recorded an ERA of 4.18 or below in each of the last three seasons. It's possible he's reaching a new level this year, though, as he's seen his strikeout rate shoot up to 25.4 percent, well above his previous career high of 19.8 percent, while his walk rate comes in at 8.5 percent, the second-best mark of his eight-year career. He'll face off against a Wiz lineup which is fine but not particularly imposing, ranking fifth in scoring.

Top Targets

Jeong Choi's ($5,000 DraftKings, $14 FanDuel) re-emergence following a terrible start has brought much-needed depth to the very shallow shortstop and third-base positions on DraftKings. After struggling to a miserable .125/.279/.214 slash line through his first 17 games, he's hit a remarkable .371/.512/.661 over his last 19 contests. He's been particularly good in his last five games, recording three multi-hit performances and hitting three home runs. He's now tied for third in KBO history with 340 homers and should move into second by the end of the year if he can manage 12 more bombs. He'll face Odrisamer Despaigne on Thursday, who had looked excellent through his five five starts in Korea but has since given up 18 runs in 15 innings over his last three appearances.

Tyler Saladino ($4,600 DraftKings, $9 FanDuel) fits into the bargain category on FanDuel but is worth considering at his fairly high DraftKings price, especially since he, like Choi, is part of a very shallow pool at third base. To further extend the similarities to Choi, he struggled greatly early this season, hitting just .128/.209/.231 in his first 14 games, but has since turned things around dramatically, posting a .375/.512/.703 slash line in his last 21 contests. He'll get the platoon advantage against Bears' lefty Hui Kwan Yu, whose decent 4.14 ERA is well out of line with his 1.59 WHIP and his minuscule 8.5 percent strikeout rate.

Bargain Bats

The Bears have a potentially interesting matchup against the Lions' 18-year-old southpaw Yoon Dong Heo, who owns a 2.70 ERA but also a 1:5 K:BB through his first two KBO starts, though they're rather banged up and very lefty-heavy, which may make a full stack difficult. Jae Ho Kim ($2,900 DraftKings, $9 FanDuel) is an interesting option, however, especially on DraftKings, where he's a cheap but playable shortstop. He'll get the platoon advantage against Heo and has moved up to the fifth spot in his last two games thanks to Jae Hwan Kim's cold stretch. Jae Ho Kim has been on a tear over his last 11 games, hitting .417 to bring his season average up to .358. It's taken a .385 BABIP to get him to that point, so his average will undoubtedly fall over the course of the season, but he's a solid option in this one given the unimposing lefty on the mound for the Lions.

Ji Hwan Oh ($3,100 DraftKings, $9 FanDuel), another cheap shortstop, missed out on the Twins stack listed below primarily because his lineup position is uncertain. A recent hot streak, which has seen him hit .400 over his last seven games, has led to him moving up to the second spot in the order, though he may drop back down if Roberto Ramos (ankle/back) returns from the injured list as expected. If he remains high in the order, though, it's hard not to consider someone who has seven hits in his last three games and will get the platoon advantage against the very unreliable Shi Hwan Jang (discussed below). Oh owns a modest .716 OPS on the season as a whole, a near match for his .714 mark from last season, but the matchup and potentially his lineup position make him worth a look as a cheap option.

Stacks To Consider

Twins vs. Shi Hwan Jang: Roberto Ramos ($5,300 DraftKings, $17 FanDuel), Hyun Soo Kim ($5,400 DraftKings, $14 FanDuel), Chun Woong Lee ($3,400 DraftKings, $9 FanDuel)

There is some risk to this stack in that rain is in the forecast, so I wouldn't necessarily recommend this one for those unable to check the weather at the last minute. For those who are able to do so, however, you don't need to look much past Jang's 7.48 ERA and 2.24 WHIP to know that he'll be a prime stack target. His underlying numbers do suggest that he perhaps deserves a little bit better results than he's achieved thus far, as his .441 BABIP will undoubtedly fall, but it's not as if he's been pitching well. His 23.1 percent strikeout rate is quite good, but it's been more than offset by his very poor 14.3 percent walk rate. That's a trend that has been true across his 13-year career, as he owns a lifetime 20.0 percent strikeout rate but also a 12.1 percent walk rate, a 5.53 ERA and a 1.71 WHIP.

Ramos has missed the last five games due to ankle and back issues, but he's expected to return to action Thursday. There's of course some risk in selecting a player in his first game back from injury, and it can't be guaranteed that he'll start until we see the lineups, but the upside here is huge. The first baseman has dominated KBO pitching thus far, hitting a league-leading 13 homers while posting a .375/.446/.777 slash line. He's finally justifiably expensive on both sites, though you could certainly argue that he's still a bargain on DraftKings, where he remains cheaper than three other first basemen.

Kim is a very overqualified second fiddle in the Twins' lineup. He doesn't have anywhere near Ramos' power, hitting just three homers, but his .351/.405/.519 slash line is excellent across the board. He's been a very good contact hitter throughout his KBO career, hitting .291 or better for 11 straight seasons. With the platoon advantage against a shaky right-hander and with Ramos returning to the lineup to drive him in, Kim looks set for a big day.

Leadoff man Lee hasn't been at his best this season, as his .705 OPS, the product of a .284/.350/.355 slash line, represents his lowest mark since he became a regular in 2016. He's been on a roll in his last four games, though, going 7-for-13 with four walks. He has very little power, never hitting more than six homers in a season, but he gets on base at a good clip (.380 over the course of his career) and should set the table well against Jang on Thursday, giving Ramos and Kim the chance to knock him in on potentially multiple occasions.

Giants vs. Seung Ho Lee: Jun Woo Jeon ($4,500 DraftKings, $12 FanDuel), Dae Ho Lee ($4,200 DraftKings, $10 FanDuel), Dixon Machado ($4,300 DraftKings, $10 FanDuel)

The Giants don't show up here often for a pair of reasons. First, they're very righty-heavy, hurting their value against the majority of opposing starters. Second, they're not very good, as they rank eighth in runs per game. Both of those problems should be mitigated against Lee, a 21-year-old lefty who's struggled to a 6.09 ERA and a 1.56 WHIP through seven starts this season. His underlying numbers support those poor marks, as he's struck out just 13.3 percent of opposing batters while walking 10.7 percent. The Giants' offense has been trending up of late, scoring 6.4 runs per game over their last eight contests, and that trend should continue here.

Jeon, who's been batting second against lefties, is in the middle of a strong season in his age-34 campaign, hitting .300 with seven homers. That's right in line with what he's shown over his last three seasons, hitting .301 or better with 18 or more homers in each. He has at least one hit in each of his last 10 games, homering three times while recording nine runs and eight RBI over that stretch. He'll make for a solid mid-priced option on both sites.

Cleanup man Lee, who turns 38 on Sunday, doesn't appear to be slowing down. He's hit .316 with six homers this season while demonstrating excellent control of the zone, walking 20 times while striking out in just 18 plate appearances. He managed just a single home run in May but has five in 14 games since the calendar flipped to June, including two in his last three contests. The veteran faces steep competition at a deep first-base position on DraftKings but is surprisingly cheap on FanDuel, where he gets to compete at the generic infield or utility slots.

Machado jumped out of the gate with four homers in his first 11 KBO games, twice his total from his 172-game MLB career. He may have gotten a little too excited to be a power hitter, however, as he went on an awful run over his next 17 contests, hitting .140/.180/.175. He seems to be figuring things out again, though, as he's hit .378 over his last nine games. He still hasn't homered since May 17, but it's likely for the best that he's gone back to a more contact-based approach. The Giants appear to have faith in him again, moving him up to the fifth spot in their last two games. He's still a bit pricey, but his ability to play second base and shortstop on DraftKings makes him worth a look.