DFS KBO: Thursday Cheat Sheet

The Wiz continued their hot streak and pulled just 2.5 games back of a playoff spot with their 7-4 victory over the Tigers on Wednesday, led by a quality start from Odrisamer Despaigne and three RBI from Mel Rojas Jr. Elsewhere, a pair of homers from Roberto Ramos and a quality start from Casey Kelly helped the Twins defeat the Bears for just the second time in eight games this season, while the Giants grabbed 15 hits (including at least two from each of their top five hitters) in their 6-2 win over Warwick Saupold and the Eagles. Geon Wook Lee held the Dinos to just one run in six innings as the Wyverns squeaked by the league leaders 3-2, while a three-run homer from Jung Hoo Lee helped the Heroes defeat the Lions by a score of 7-6. Only the Wiz won both their games to start the week, so Thursday's slate will contain four rubber matches among a set of rather interesting series. Thursday's set of pitchers contains a fair number of top-tier arms alongside a higher than usual group of pitchers who I'd be very happy to stack against.

Pitchers

Eric Jokisch ($9,500 DraftKings, $30 FanDuel as "Kiwoom Starting P") is deservedly the most expensive option on both sites. He's given up 10 total earned runs in 11 starts this season, never allowing more than three in a start, leading to a remarkable 1.30 ERA and a 0.87 WHIP, numbers which rank first and second, respectively, among qualified starts. He's been even better over his last two starts, allowing just a single unearned run. His 18.5 percent strikeout rate is quite modest for a top-tier arm, though it's still a tick above league average. No lineup this season has given the lefty much trouble, so the Lions shouldn't be too tough of a challenge, as they still sit sixth in scoring even after their recent hot streak.

Raul Alcantara ($9,200 DraftKings, $28 FanDuel as "Doosan Starting P") has been strong all season, cruising to a 3.45 ERA and a 1.18 WHIP through his first 11 starts, both representing improvements on his 4.01 ERA and 1.25 WHIP from his KBO debut with the Wiz last season. He's backed those numbers up with an excellent combination of a 20.9 strikeout rate and a 4.1 percent walk rate. The righty has been even better over his last three starts, posting a 2.01 ERA and a 0.76 WHIP while striking out 19 batters and walking just one. The slumping Twins have started to show signs of life in recent days, but they still rank fifth in scoring on the season and shouldn't be too tough a test for Alcantara given how he's pitching lately.

For a cheaper option, consider Bum Soo Kim ($5,500 DraftKings, $24 FanDuel as "Hanwha Starting P"). There are plenty of very good reasons for him to be so cheap despite his 3.60 ERA. The 24-year-old southpaw owns a career 5.98 ERA in 237.2 innings and his respectable ERA comes with an alarmingly high 15.7 percent walk rate. That's all baked into his price, though, and there are reasons to take a flyer on him as a budget option against the eighth-ranked Giants offense. He's only given up two runs in his last two starts and owns an above-average 20.1 percent strikeout rate, giving him a fair amount of upside against one of the weakest lineups in the league.

Top Targets

If the Wyverns weren't so banged up, they'd be a potential stack recommendation against Dinos lefty Sung Young Choi, who's struggled to a 5.70 ERA in 23.2 innings this season. Jamie Romak ($4,500 DraftKings, $13 FanDuel) is worth a look even without much help from his teammates, however. The Canadian slugger's .273/.385/.495 season slash line is a near match for his .276/.373/.508 line from 2019. He has 10 homers on the season and two in his last five games, and he'll have a good chance to add another with the platoon advantage against Choi, who owns an awful 2.3 HR/9 this season.

Lions lefty Jung Hyun Baek has respectable strikeout and walk numbers this season, but his ERA sits at an unimpressive 5.23 thanks to the fact that he's allowed 10 homers this season, tied for the highest number in the league. That would seem to bode quite well for Byung Ho Park ($4,600 DraftKings, $14 FanDuel). The first baseman has hit just .233 this season while striking out in a league-worst 30.1 percent of his plate appearances, but his power is very much still present in his age-33 season, as he sits tied for second with 15 homers. He's hit 30 or more long bombs in his last six KBO seasons and should have a good chance to make some more progress towards that number if Baek's struggles in that area continue.

Bargain Bats

Stacking the Eagles in any game is tough, but it could be worth looking into Thursday against Adrian Sampson, who owns a 6.06 ERA and a 1.68 WHIP through his first seven KBO starts.  While there may not be enough trustworthy Eagles to round out a full stack, Eun Won Jung ($3,900 DraftKings, $8 FanDuel) looks worthy of consideration. The 20-year-old owned a poor .236/.322/.315 slash line through June 20, but his bat has come alive over his last 14 games, as he's hit .353/.484/.490 with 13 walks and just four strikeouts over that stretch. He's not much of a power hitter, hitting just two homers all season, but there's enough in his profile to make him an interesting cheap option with the platoon advantage against a struggling righty.

Se Hyuk Park ($3,800 DraftKings, $7 FanDuel) typically hits eighth, which would normally make me avoid him in daily-fantasy lineups, but the standards for the catcher position (which only matters on DraftKings, as catchers are lumped in as generic infielders on FanDuel) are lower than most. Additionally, the Bears' lineup is deep enough that Park can hit that late while still being surrounded by fairly competent bats. The 30-year-old backstop is in the midst of a career year at the plate, as his .292/.362/.403 slash line is good for a career-high .765 OPS. He's been particularly good in the month of July, hitting .458 with seven RBI in seven games. He'll get the platoon advantage against Twins righty Tyler Wilson, who owns a mediocre 4.47 ERA through 10 starts.

Stacks To Consider

Tigers vs. Byung Wook Jo: Preston Tucker ($5,800 DraftKings, $16 FanDuel), Hyung Woo Choi ($4,900 DraftKings, $13 FanDuel), Min Sang Yoo ($3,100 DraftKings, $7 FanDuel)

There are more compelling stack options than usual Thursday, making the decision to stack the league's seventh-ranked lineup on a team that has won just four of its last 12 games seem potentially somewhat odd, but the matchup here is enticing enough to make a Tigers stack worth considering. Jo has made just four career KBO appearances (two as a starter and two out of the bullpen) and has done very little in 17.2 innings. His 4.08 ERA and 1.30 WHIP are both perfectly fine marks, but he relies far too much on his defense, as he's struck out just four of the 71 batters he's faced thus far. He shouldn't give the Tigers' top bats much trouble here.

Tucker has been quite hot and quite cold at various times this season, but his eight-game stretch from June 21 to July 3 was among his worst, as he hit a miserable .067/.200/.100 over that stretch. His bat seems to be waking up again, though, as he's going 5-for-15 with a pair of homers and five RBI over his last four games. While it would be nice if his slump dropped his price tag, it's hard to argue he's overpriced given his overall .312/.394/.583 slash line. He'll have a good chance to homer in a third straight game with the platoon advantage against a young righty who's struggled to put hitters away.

Choi held the fort admirably during Tucker's slump, hitting .400/.455/.800 with three homers over his teammate's eight-game cold stretch. He followed that up with three straight hitless games but got back on track Wednesday with a two-hit game. He's been a very strong hitter overall this season, hitting .312/.417/.517. The 36-year-old has finished with an OPS of .897 or better in seven straight seasons and is well on his way to making that eight straight this year.

Part of the problem with the Tigers' lineup this season has been a lack of quality options after the aforementioned pair, especially with leadoff man Sun Bin Kim (thigh) on the injured list. Yoo, who typically bats fifth and will get the platoon advantage against Jo, should be a serviceable enough budget option to round out this stack. The first baseman struggled to a .262/.367/.286 slash line in his first 16 games this season but has hit a strong .349/.382/.518 in his last 25 contests.

Dinos vs. Ricardo Pinto: Sung Bum Na ($5,600 DraftKings, $18 FanDuel), Min Woo Park ($5,200 DraftKings, $12 FanDuel), Aaron Altherr ($5,400 DraftKings, $15 FanDuel)

The Dinos stack proved to be a dud Wednesday, as they scored just two runs on seven hits, but I wouldn't be afraid to go right back to the well against Pinto. The Venezuelan deserved the benefit of the doubt after some poor starts early on, as every pitcher who comes to the KBO with MLB experience should be assumed to be one of the better arms in the league until proven otherwise. Pinto's 4.26 ERA through 11 starts is passable, but the rest of his slash line is very poor. He owns a 1.71 WHIP and has struck out just 12.8 percent of opposing batters while walking just 11.4 percent. He's maintained a respectable ERA by allowing just one home run all year, but that seems quite likely to change against a Dinos team which has hit 13 more homers than anyone else in the league.

Any Dinos stack against a righty should begin with Na, who's been among the best hitters in the league all season. He's hitting .303/.369/.596 on the season and is tied for second in homers with 15. His .926 OPS in the month of June was practically a disappointment considering his lofty standards, but he's been hitting the ball well thus far in July, hitting .333 with a pair of homers and seven runs scored through seven games. The number three hitter could be the one to double Pinto's home-run total Thursday.

Park missed the first five games of July with a hamstring injury, but he returned in a bench role Tuesday and went 1-for-3 with a walk in his return to the starting lineup Wednesday. He's unlikely to homer off Pinto, considering he's homered just three times all year, but the leadoff man should get the chance to score multiple runs should the Dinos go off in this one. His strong .313/.363/.458 season slash line is actually a moderate disappointment compared to his numbers in recent seasons, though his .314 BABIP is 43 points below his previous full-season low, so there's plenty of reason to believe his line will look even better by the end of the year.

The Dinos have more than their fair share of quality bats to round out this stack, but I'll stick with Altherr, who's been bouncing between the fourth and fifth spot in the lineup for over a week after spending much of the year hitting in the bottom third. His prominent role is thoroughly deserved, as he's homered five times in his last 13 games while hitting .383/.431/.787. On the season as a whole, he sits fifth in homers (14), third in RBI (49) and tied for third in steals (10).