This article is part of our DraftKings KBO series.
Are you ready for a wild day of KBO baseball? With four of Wednesday's five games rained out, the main slate on both DraftKings and FanDuel was cancelled. Only the Eagles and Lions down in Daegu were able to play, though they provided more than their fair share of excitement, with the Lions winning 3-2 off Hak Ju Lee's two-out walkoff single. Four rainouts Wednesday means four doubleheaders Thursday, for a total of nine games. Five of those will take place at the originally scheduled time (5:30 AM ET), while every team besides the Eagles and Lions will play an additional game prior to that at 2:00 AM ET. DraftKings and FanDuel are handling the split slate slightly differently. On DraftKings, only the four earlier games will be included as part of the main slate, so you won't be able to select any Eagles -- not that you were going to anyway -- or Lions. On FanDuel, the four early games will be part of the main slate as will the lone Eagles-Lions contest, which starts once the other games have been completed. Of course, that assumes rain doesn't interfere again. As of writing, the southern part of the country appears to be at risk of rain again, with the Eagles-Lions game in Daegu and both Tigers-Giants games in Busan not certain to go forward. You'll definitely want to check your lineups as close to lineup lock as possible tonight, but luckily the earlier start won't be as disruptive
Are you ready for a wild day of KBO baseball? With four of Wednesday's five games rained out, the main slate on both DraftKings and FanDuel was cancelled. Only the Eagles and Lions down in Daegu were able to play, though they provided more than their fair share of excitement, with the Lions winning 3-2 off Hak Ju Lee's two-out walkoff single. Four rainouts Wednesday means four doubleheaders Thursday, for a total of nine games. Five of those will take place at the originally scheduled time (5:30 AM ET), while every team besides the Eagles and Lions will play an additional game prior to that at 2:00 AM ET. DraftKings and FanDuel are handling the split slate slightly differently. On DraftKings, only the four earlier games will be included as part of the main slate, so you won't be able to select any Eagles -- not that you were going to anyway -- or Lions. On FanDuel, the four early games will be part of the main slate as will the lone Eagles-Lions contest, which starts once the other games have been completed. Of course, that assumes rain doesn't interfere again. As of writing, the southern part of the country appears to be at risk of rain again, with the Eagles-Lions game in Daegu and both Tigers-Giants games in Busan not certain to go forward. You'll definitely want to check your lineups as close to lineup lock as possible tonight, but luckily the earlier start won't be as disruptive to your sleep schedule.
Lastly, you'll notice the majority of the suggested pitchers mimic Wednesday's edition, but one has been added, and most the other recommendations have changed. Most names in Wednesday's piece will still be relevant Thursday, so feel free to look there for additional suggestions.
Pitchers
Somehow Dan Straily ($9,500 DraftKings, $23 FanDuel as "Lotte Starting P") costs $300 more on DraftKings than he did yesterday, though he's suddenly one of the cheapest options on FanDuel, presumably because prices were set before it was known that he'd be starting in this one. He's by far the best value play on that site, underpriced to the point that seemingly the only reason not to select him is to differentiate yourself from the crowd. He's in no way overpriced on DraftKings as the most expensive option on the slate, as he's been dominant this season, cruising to a 2.10 ERA and a 1.01 WHIP through his first nine starts while striking out 28.4 percent of opposing batters. He'll face a relatively easy test Thursday against a Tigers offense which ranks seventh in scoring.
Tyler Wilson ($8,200 DraftKings, $25 FanDuel as "LG Starting P") is correctly priced as a step below the day's most expensive arms. While he cruised to ERAs of 3.07 and 2.92 in his first two KBO seasons, he hasn't been at the same level this year, posting a fine but forgettable 4.18 ERA. His combination of a 17.7 percent strikeout rate and 7.6 percent walk rate is similarly reliable but unexciting. Still, there's enough in his track record to make him a usable option Thursday, even against a solid Heroes offense which ranks fourth in runs per game.
Jong Hoon Park ($7,800 DraftKings, $26 FanDuel as "SK Starting P") earned a mention here yesterday as the most interesting relatively cheap option on DraftKings, and that's the case again on this slate. There's plenty of risk that comes with any pitcher facing the second-ranked Bears lineup, but Park offers more upside for his price than most alternatives. His 4.30 ERA is rather mediocre, but it comes with a 25.3 percent strikeout rate, so there's potential for a big day. Park's best start of the season came in his previous appearance against the Bears, when he struck out eight while walking one and allowing just two hits and one earned run in seven frames back in late May.
A bonus fourth recommendation: David Buchanan's ($28 FanDuel as "Samsung Starting P") Lions won't be part of the main slate on DraftKings, but he's certainly worth a look on FanDuel despite his high price tag. That's true of nearly every pitcher who gets to face the anemic Eagles, who have been held to just six total runs in the first two games this series despite facing a pair of starters with far lesser reputations than Buchanan has. The former Philadelphia Phillie may not be as good as his 3.62 ERA through his first eight KBO starts suggests, as he's been helped by a .269 BABIP and a 79.3 percent strand rate, but he still has more than enough about him to put up strong numbers against the league's weakest lineup.
Top Targets
Baek Ho Kang's ($6,000 DraftKings, $16 FanDuel) teammate Mel Rojas was mentioned in this section in yesterday's piece, so I'll switch to Kang today for the sake of variety. Mike Wright is again scheduled to take the hill for the Dinos, and he remains a less intimidating arm than you might suspect. His 3.80 ERA and 1.29 WHIP are perfectly respectable marks, though his combination of a 19.6 percent strikeout rate and a 10.1 percent walk rate doesn't particularly stand out. Kang will get the platoon advantage against the American righty and has been on a tear over his last 11 games, hitting .415/.457/.805 with five homers.
While Jong Hoon Park was mentioned as the best budget pitching option above, he's certainly not so good that you should avoid the Bears entirely unless you're including him in your lineup. If you're looking to include a Bear or two, Jae Hwan Kim ($5,200 DraftKings, $17 FanDuel) is a great place to start. The 2018 MVP's .261/.360/.471 slash line is well below his lofty standards, the product of an extended slump in which he hit an awful .141/.233/.281 from May 28 through June 17. His bat has suddenly woken up over his last five games, however, as he's hit .474 with a homer and eight RBI over that stretch.
Bargain Bats
Ah Seop Son ($3,900 DraftKings, $13 FanDuel) is more of a mid-price option than a true budget choice, though he's cheap enough compared to the top-tier outfielders (especially on DraftKings) that he feels worthy of a spot here. He's been on a tear over his last 15 games, grabbing a hit in all but one of those contests while posting an overall .419/.448/.597 slash line. As the lone lefty who reliably hits near the top of the Giants' order, he'll be the best play from that lineup against Tigers righty Min Woo Lee, who owns an unremarkable 5.12 ERA and a 15.4 percent strikeout rate this season.
Sang Su Kim's ($8 FanDuel) Lions aren't available for DraftKings' main slate, but he and several of his teammates make for strong budget options on FanDuel. The second baseman has yet to homer this season, but he has the prototypical skill set for a leadoff man, walking 12.3 percent of the time en route to a .318/.421/.385 slash line. He's also swiped six bases, well on his way towards his total of 21 from last season. He'll get the platoon advantage against Eagles lefty Bum Soo Kim, whose unimpressive 4.70 ERA in 23 innings as a swingman this season probably overstates his talent, as he's walked an awful 16.8 percent of opposing batters.
Stacks To Consider
Dinos vs. Je Seong Bae: Sung Bum Na ($6,300 DraftKings, $17 FanDuel), Min Woo Park ($5,400 DraftKings, $12 FanDuel), Myung Gi Lee ($3,700 DraftKings, $9 FanDuel)
Bae's 4.02 ERA looks adequate on the surface, but a closer look at the 23-year-old righty's numbers paints a more pessimistic picture. His 1.49 WHIP isn't particularly good, and he's walked 9.7 percent of opposing batters while posting a far from intimidating 13.1 percent strikeout rate. He did have a solid 3.76 ERA last season, but that came with a more respectable 16.1 percent strikeout rate. There's little reason to believe he'll give the highest-scoring lineup in the league much trouble Thursday, though it's worth noting that he did manage to throw seven shutout innings against the Dinos back in mid-May. He was pitching quite well early in the year, however, but he's been far worse over his last four starts, posting a 7.48 ERA and a 13:12 K:BB.
As he did prior to yesterday's rained out game, Na leads this stack. He's been fairly cold over his last 11 games, hitting just .239/.286/.435 even when including his strong weekend series against the Eagles, but his high price tag remains justified. When on, Na is among the best hitters in the league, as he ranks third in homers (12), tied for second in runs (36) and tied for fifth in RBI (35). With the platoon advantage against an unreliable righty, Na should be right in the middle of multiple rallies if the Dinos go off as expected in this one.
I could have included Eui Ji Yang ($6,100 DraftKings, $14 FanDuel) for the second spot, but in an effort to not exactly repeat yesterday's stack, I'll go with Park instead. His price has dropped slightly on DraftKings, making him an easier inclusion. It's still a rather lofty price tag for someone who owns a merely good .305/.364/.429 slash line, but that's somewhat offset by his eligibility at second base. His slash line seemingly underrates his talent, as his .315 BABIP is probably significantly lower than we can expect going forward; he's never recorded a BABIP below .357 in any of his six full KBO seasons. The leadoff man should have multiple chances to score if the Dinos have a big day against Bae.
Lee remains the rare cheap Dino. He doesn't have the same upside as most of his teammates, as he hits for very little power, but getting a player this cheap who will have the platoon advantage against a shaky righty while batting out of the number two spot in the league's best lineup is too good of a deal to pass up. Not only does he keep a Dinos stack affordable, he does plenty of damage himself, as he's hitting .357 this season. He's been even better lately, even as many of his teammates have slumped, striking out just three times in his last 17 games while hitting .467.
Wyverns vs. Hui Kwan Yu: Jeong Choi ($5,100 DraftKings, $15 FanDuel), Jamie Romak ($4,800 DraftKings, $13 FanDuel), Eui Yoon Jeong ($2,600 DraftKings, $7 FanDuel)
This recommendation may look odd on the surface, as the Wyverns sit second-last in scoring and Yu owns a solid 3.68 ERA. I've rarely seen an ERA so primed for regression, however. It's very difficult to believe that Yu will maintain such a strong mark when he's striking out just 7.8 percent of opposing batters, a lower figure than his merely average 8.3 percent walk rate. To be fair to the veteran lefty, he did produce a 3.25 ERA last season despite similarly uninspiring peripherals, so it's possible he has some secret sauce, but his 9.3 percent strikeout rate and 6.1 percent walk rate in 2019 were both noticeably better than his numbers this season. Additionally, his awful 6.70 ERA from 2018 seemingly fights against the idea that he can reliably outperform his underlying numbers, as he suffered some terrible results that season even while striking out a comparably respectable 12.5 percent of opposing hitters.
While the Wyverns' lack of offensive depth has been a significant factor in their poor season to date, they do have a pair of strong bats in the heart of the order, both of whom will get the platoon advantage against a southpaw in this one. Choi is one of the KBO's all-time greats, hitting .289/.393/.523 with 342 homers, third on the league's all-time home-run leaderboard. Following an awful first 17 games this season, in which he hit just .125/.279/.214, he's been as good as ever over his last 24 contests, hitting .350/.480/.650 with 16 walks to just 11 strikeouts.
Romak gives the Wyverns another strong right-handed bat in the heart of their order. His .253/.361/.386 line in May was respectable enough but well below the standards he set in his first three seasons in Korea, when he recorded a .933 OPS with an average of 34.3 homers per year. He's kicked into gear in June, though, hitting .279/.423/.639 with five homers after managing just a pair of long bombs in the first month of the season. When Choi and Romak hit as they've been hitting lately, they're right up there with the best offensive duos in the league.
The problem for the Wyverns has been a complete lack of depth beyond that pair. Jeong earns the third spot in this stack more or less by default, as he's the team's next-best right-handed bat and the one who follows Choi and Romak out of the fifth spot. The veteran outfielder's .276 batting average is a near match for his .282 mark from last season, but his power has collapsed, as he's homered just once while seeing his slugging percentage drop from .447 to .336. He has at least been turning things around after a poor start to the season, hitting a respectable .296/.367/.389 in the month of June. At his very low price, that's enough to make him worth a look to round out this stack.
