DFS KBO: Thursday Cheat Sheet

Wednesday's KBO games were generally high-scoring affairs, with two teams scoring double digits and just two scoring fewer than five runs. The Wiz exploded for a big number in their 11-6 win over the Lions, with Jeong Dae Bae going 3-for-5 with a homer and six RBI. The Twins matched them, beating the Eagles 11-5 with Hyun Soo Kim grabbing three hits and six RBI of his own while Casey Kelly struck out seven and allowed just a single run in six innings. Elsewhere, Hyun Hee Han threw six scoreless innings for the Heroes, but the Giants managed a seven-run eighth-inning once he left the game and went on to win 8-2, while the Wyverns won their sixth straight contest, defeating the Tigers 7-6 after a three-run top of the ninth capped by a bases-loaded walk for Sung Han Park. Meanwhile, the Dinos emerged as 5-3 victors against the Bears in the lone battle between two contending teams, with Min Woo Park leading the way with three hits. 

Thursday's slate kicks off a new set of two-game series, with the Bears-Wiz matchup the only one taking place between two playoff teams.

Pitchers

Jake Brigham ($10,000) has battled elbow issues throughout the year, but he appears to be past them now, making him easily the top option on the slate given that he gets to face the league-worst Eagles lineup. While he struggled in his first two starts back from his latest absence in early August, allowing 10 runs in 8.2 innings, he's looked very good since then, posting a 3.15 ERA and a 1.34 WHIP while striking out 38 batters in 34.1 frames. He stumbled two starts ago, giving up six runs against the Wiz, but that looks to be just a bad game and not a sign of injuries returning, as he struck out eight Twins while allowing just two runs in five innings in his last trip to the mound.

Drew Rucinski ($8,000) comes far too cheap for a man with his numbers. His 3.18 ERA ranks fifth among qualified starters, while his 1.25 WHIP is good for eighth and his 20.8 percent strikeout rate ranks ninth. He stumbled a bit over a five-start stretch from late July through late August, allowing five or more runs three times while posting a 7.33 ERA and a 1.89 WHIP. That appears to be just a blip, though, as he's rebounded to post a 2.89 ERA and a 1.13 WHIP over his last three outings. He should face a relatively easy task against the Wyverns' ninth-ranked lineup Thursday, making him quite a bargain at his mid-tier price.

Among the day's cheapest options, Shi Hwan Jang ($6,300) is the one who offers at least a bit of upside. His 4.50 ERA and 1.56 WHIP are both unimpressive, though that's reflected in his price. His upside comes from his high strikeout rate, which sits at 20.8 percent, the same mark posted by Rucinski. That's been offset by an 11.1 percent walk rate, the second-worst mark among qualified starters, but a high-strikeout, high-walk profile is better for daily fantasy than the alternative, as you at least have the chance for a high point total should he manage to keep runs off the board while also showing his typical strikeout prowess. He'll have a chance to do that Thursday as he takes on the fifth-ranked Heroes lineup.

Top Targets

While his teammate Roberto Ramos has looked either like an MVP candidate or completely lost at the plate at various times this season, Hyun Soo Kim ($5,100) has remained a stable force at the heart of the Twins' lineup throughout the year. Overall, the 32-year-old former MLB player owns a .986 OPS, the product of a .347/.418/.568 slash line. He'd managed just one hit in a three-game stretch before going 3-for-4 with three doubles and six RBI on Wednesday. He should stay hot Thursday with the platoon advantage against 19-year-old Giants righty Jun Won Seo, who owns a mediocre 4.72 ERA.

Hyung Woo Choi ($4,900) earned a mention here yesterday due to being considerably cheaper than teammate Preston Tucker while also outperforming him recently. That turned out to be the correct call, as he scored 26 points to Tucker's four. I'd stick with him again Thursday for the same reasons. Over his last 10 games, the veteran is hitting .368/435/.763 with three homers and 13 RBI. He'll get the platoon advantage in this one at the league's most hitter-friendly park against Lions righty Dae Woo Kim, who's given up six runs on 16 hits in just 8.1 innings over his last two starts.

Bargain Bats

While the Giants are facing a theoretically tough matchup against Tyler Wilson, the Twins righty owns an 8.50 ERA over his last two starts, so the Giants' top bats should definitely be on the table here. Jun Woo Jeon ($3,500) could be the best value among the group. The 34-year-old is quite affordable for a number three hitter, even one who holds that role for the Giants' mediocre lineup, which ranks sixth in scoring. Jeon is hitting a solid .295/.359/.484 with 17 homers on the season. He's been quite hot in his last 17 games, going hitless just once while posting a .391/.474/.578 slash line.

While Shi Hwan Jang was mentioned above as a cheap pitcher with some upside, he's far from a dominant arm, and you shouldn't shy away from the Heroes' hitters if you don't include Jang yourself. Woong Bin Kim ($3,900) offers a cheaper way to get a piece of the heart of the Heroes' order. He'd done next to nothing prior to this year and had a small role for much of this season, but he's emerged as a near-everyday player with Byung Ho Park out with a broken finger, batting between third and fifth in each of the last four games. He's certainly earned the role given his recent performance, as he's hitting .370/.460/.648 over his last 16 games.

Stacks to Consider

Wiz vs. Hui Kwan Yu: Mel Rojas Jr. ($5,800), Jae Gyun Hwang ($5,500), Jeong Dae Bae ($3,700)

Yu has allowed far too much contact this season, as his 8.1 percent strikeout rate is more than 4.5 ticks below the next-worst qualified starter. Sometimes, that works out for him, with most balls finding his teammates' gloves. That's actually happened more often than not lately, as he's allowed two or fewer earned runs in five of his last six starts. Sometimes, he implodes in a big way, as he did in his first September start, allowing seven runs on 10 hits in just two innings of work. On the season as a whole, he owns an unimpressive 5.14 ERA and a 1.72 WHIP, and his 41:35 K:BB doesn't indicate that he deserves any better than that.

Pitching to contact doesn't seem like a very good idea against a lineup led by this Rojas. He's made by far the loudest contact in the league this season, as his .685 slugging percentage beats the next-best qualified hitter by 70 points. He also leads the league in homers (37) and RBI (103). After slumping to a .132/.150/.276 line in his last 17 games in August, he's stormed back in September, hitting .415/.475/.755 through 14 contests.

Hwang slots in right in front of Rojas out of the second spot in the order and will get the platoon advantage against the left-handed Yu. Like his teammate, he's been quite hot lately, hitting .377/.443/.639 with 18 runs scored and 13 driven in over his last 16 games. Overall, his .870 OPS is tied for the third-best mark of his 13-year KBO career, though he's actually hit much better for most of the year. His OPS was as low as .657 a full 33 games into the year, but he owns a .981 OPS since that point.

Cleanup man Baek Ho Kang is the typical third member of this stack, but I've avoided the left-on-left matchup here and jumped down to the sixth spot to grab the worse but considerably cheaper Bae. (Yu is unintimidating enough that Kang definitely deserves consideration from those with the budget space, however.) Bae's .306/.388/.474 season slash line is inflated by a .379 BABIP, though his 17 steals indicate that he has the speed to run an above-average number in that category. He'd been in a slump from mid-August through early September but appears to be pulling out of it, posting a 1.088 OPS over his last six games.

Lions vs. Ki Young Im: Ja Wook Koo ($5,000), Daniel Palka ($3,000), Dong Yeop Kim ($2,600)

Im gave the Tigers some impressive rotation depth early in the season, posting a 2.96 ERA and a 1.21 WHIP through his first nine starts, numbers he backed up with a 40:9 K:BB. Things have fallen apart since then, however, as he owns a 7.09 ERA and a 1.65 WHIP over his last eight outings, posting a much worse 32:15 K:BB. Unfortunately for him and the Tigers, those recent numbers are much more similar to his performances from the past few seasons, where he posted ERAs of 6.26 and 5.73 with WHIPs of 1.70 and 1.77. That version of Im should struggle even against the Lions' eighth-ranked lineup, especially with this game taking place at the league's most hitter-friendly park.

Koo struggled in late August, posting a .214/.317/.257 slash line over the final 20 games of the month. He's been far better in September, however, hitting .353/.400/.647 in 13 games while driving in 15 runs and scoring 12 more. He's also homered three times on that stretch, giving him a modest 11 on the season. He lacks big power, but he's done just about everything else at the plate, as he's hit .310 or better in five of his six KBO seasons while stealing double-digit bases each year, including 14 this season.

Palka follows Koo out of the cleanup spot, giving the Lions a pair of strong lefties against the right-handed Im. The former Chicago White Sox slugger hasn't exactly lit things up in his first 19 games overseason, though his .236/.313/.444 slash line is decent enough. He's looked better over his last five games, hitting .316/.364/.474 while driving in five runs. Even if he was still struggling, however, his price tag is far too cheap for a former MLB player unless that player has proven that they can't handle life in Korea. 19 games of not excellent but still decent performance certainly doesn't count as proof in that regard.

Number five hitter Kim has been on fire lately, though DraftKings doesn't seem to have caught on, judging by his bottom-tier price. The outfielder struggled enough early in the season that he was demoted twice, but he's clearly sorted things out. In 31 games since returning from the Futures League in early August, he's hitting .404/.434/.677 with seven homers. He's been even better more recently, as he's hitting .516/.531/.871 with three homers, seven runs and seven RBI over a seven-game hitting streak.