DFS KBO: Tuesday Cheat Sheet

Two weeks into the KBO season, the Dinos have pulled out to a three-game lead atop the standings, winning six straight to move to 10-1. At the tail end of the standings sit the Wyverns, who finished tied with the Bears for the best regular-season record last year. They've lost nine straight to fall to 1-10. The rest of the league's 10 teams are crammed together between 4-8 and 7-4. Power remains high through two weeks, with teams hitting 1.01 HR/9 this season after hitting 0.71 HR/9 last year. In a refreshingly familiar juiced-ball saga, the league claims that the ball is the same as last year's de-juiced version, saying that the ball was measured and meets all the required specifications, but we learned from the MLB's own recent saga that those specifications have more wiggle room than you might expect. Per The Korea Herald, exit velocity is up in the early going, though that could certainly be a result of the warmer weather that comes with a delayed season or a reflection of the fact that pitchers are more susceptible to their routines being thrown off than hitters. In any case, it's something to keep an eye on as the season progresses, as it would have an impact on whether we truly believe the likes of Dixon Machado are suddenly legitimate power hitters.

Pitchers

David Buchanan ($7,300 DraftKings, $22 FanDuel as "Samsung Starting P") rebounded from a poor season debut against the Dinos to throw seven shutout innings against the Heroes last week, striking out eight while allowing just two hits. He's particularly interesting on FanDuel, where he's tied for the second-cheapest pitcher on the slate. He'll face a decent-but-hardly unbeatable Twins lineup that is tied for fourth in runs per game this season after finishing sixth in that category last year. Hitter-friendly Daegu Samsung Lions Park adds some risk, but if Buchanan can miss bats like he did last time out, that's less of a worry.

Won Tae Choi ($9,500 DraftKings, $25 FanDuel as "Kiwoom Starting P") is quite expensive on both sites, but he's a good bet to be worth the price. He doesn't have a ton of strikeout upside, striking out just 15.8 percent of batters, but he's been able to suppress walks and homers over the last two seasons, giving him a 3.95 ERA and 1.33 WHIP during the league's high-offense era in 2018 and a 3.38 ERA and 1.22 WHIP last season. He'll face an anemic Wyverns' that has averaged a league-worst 3.1 runs per game this season.

William Cuevas' ($7,500 DraftKings, $24 FanDuel) 5.73 ERA on the season doesn't look great, but it comes with a 1.09 WHIP and solid 9:2 K:BB through 11 innings. He held a strong Dinos lineup to just one run in six innings his last time out. The Venezuelan has a track record of success in the KBO, recording a 3.62 ERA and 1.17 WHIP in his debut campaign last year. He's a moderately-priced option on this slate and gets to face a struggling Eagles offense that ranks second-last with 3.2 runs per game.

Top Targets

Preston Tucker ($5,900 DraftKings, $14 FanDuel) has taken over the top spot as the most expensive hitter on both sites. He's all over the KBO leaderboards, leading or tied for the lead in homers (five), RBI (20), slugging percentage (.911) and OPS (1.421). He had an injury scare Saturday after leaving with an apparent leg issue but started the next day and looked no worse for wear, hitting a solo homer. The fireworks should continue Tuesday against Giants' righty Jun Won Seo, who owns a career 5.33 ERA in 108 KBO innings.

Jae Il Oh ($4,200 DraftKings, $17 FanDuel) is facing Bears righty Mike Wright, who appears to be taking to the KBO well, posting a 2.45 ERA and 1.09 WHIP in his first two starts. The Bears' loaded offense looks like they can put up big numbers on anyone these days, however, scoring a league-leading 7.5 runs per game. Wright looks intimidating enough to make the excellent but expensive Bears stack of Oh, Jose Fernandez ($6,100 DraftKings, $17 FanDuel) and Jae Hwan Kim ($5,100 DraftKings, $17 FanDuel) inadvisable, but if you still want a piece of the best lineup in the league, grabbing Oh makes sense, especially on DraftKings, where he's still relatively moderately priced.

Bargain Bats

Hak Ju Lee ($3,500 DraftKings, $6 FanDuel) is a steal on FanDuel but looks playable on DraftKings as well. The former top-100 MLB prospect (per Baseball America) returned to his native South Korea last season and didn't light the world on fire, but his .262/.335/.369 slash line was adequate for a shortstop given the de-juiced ball. He's interesting on this slate more for his circumstance than his individual talent. He moved up to the third spot in the order for the Lions' last game and will have the platoon advantage against Twins' righty Chan Gyu Lim, who struggled to a 4.97 ERA last season. If the Lions put up a big number at their hitter-friendly home stadium, Lee could have a big game.

Keon Chang Seo ($2,500 DraftKings, $11 FanDuel) leads off for a Heroes lineup that ranks a modest sixth in runs per game this season, but they could be a real threat at some point, as they led the league in that category last year. He's hit no worse than .298 in each of the last six seasons, and while his batting average is slightly down to start his age-30 campaign, his overall .273/.347/.477 slash line is quite respectable. He'll set the table for the Heroes against Wyverns righty Ricardo Pinto, who has a 3.18 ERA but a very poor 4:7 K:BB through his first two KBO starts.

Stacks to Consider

Wiz vs. Shi Hwan Jang: Baek Ho Kang ($5,800 DraftKings, $14 FanDuel), Mel Rojas Jr. ($6,200 DraftKings, $15 FanDuel), Woo Jun Sim ($2,500 DraftKings, $11 FanDuel)

Jang's 3.75 ERA through two starts is solid, but there's little reason to trust it going forward, as he's allowed 25 baserunners in 12 innings. His numbers from last season aren't particularly encouraging, either, as he stumbled to a 4.95 ERA and 1.64 WHIP. Walks are his biggest problem, as he hasn't recorded a walk rate below 10 percent since 2015.

20-year-old phenom Kang has started off his third KBO campaign on the right foot, hitting four homers, driving in 11 runs and scoring nine times through his first 11 games. That home-run total puts him one off the league lead, while his 1.156 OPS is good for seventh among qualified hitters. The power, in particular, is a very positive sign, as he saw his home-run total drop to just 13 last season with the de-juiced ball. Just how much Kang's power this year is due to a possibly re-juiced ball and how much is due to his own growth as a hitter is not yet clear, but he's one of the top fantasy options on this slate either way.

Kang is typically a slightly better option than his switch-hitting teammate, Rojas, due to his marginally cheaper price and better lineup slot (he typically hits third, while Rojas usually hits fifth). With Jang on the mound for the Eagles, however, you'll want to include both if you have the budget space. Rojas recorded an OPS of at least .914 in each of his first three KBO seasons and has been on a tear to start his fourth campaign, hitting .426/.460/.660.

Leadoff man Sim should be the beneficiary of the big bats hitting behind him. He doesn't hit for power, never managing more than four homers in a season, but he has a strong .358 on-base percentage through 11 games this year and has scored seven runs, including four in his last three games. His shortstop eligibility matters quite a bit on DraftKings, where positional scarcity is a factor. On FanDuel, consider No. 2 hitter Min Hyeok Kim instead. Unlike Sim, Kim gets the platoon advantage, and he's two dollars cheaper on that site, but he's struggled to open the season, hitting .216/.275/.378.

Giants vs. Min Woo Lee: Dae Ho Lee ($4,500 Draftkings, $13 FanDuel), Ah Seop Son ($3,400 DraftKings, $13 FanDuel), Jun Woo Jeon ($4,300 DraftKings, $14 FanDuel)

After spending most of the last two seasons as a reliever, Lee hasn't looked worthy of a starting role through his first two outings of the 2020 campaign. He did win one of them, but his overall 5.91 ERA, 1.59 WHIP and 7:4 K:BB in 10.2 innings are hardly encouraging. His past track record offers little reason for optimism, as he posted a 7.17 ERA and 1.99 WHIP in 2018 and a 5.43 ERA and 1.63 WHIP last year.

Someone may have forgotten to tell Lee that homers are up in the KBO this season, as he has just one all year, but he's having a strong campaign nonetheless, posting a .372/.413/.558 slash line. If offense stays high, it would be a surprise if the cleanup hitter doesn't start hitting the ball out of the park sooner rather than later, as he's ninth all time on the KBO home-run leaderboard with 313 career bombs.

No. 3 hitter Son is the Giant to target if you're grabbing just one, rather than the whole stack, as he's the lone lefty among the group and will get the platoon advantage against the right-handed Lee. He's been very hot through his first 11 games, hitting .405/.532/.541. He saw his OPS fall 190 points to a still-respectable .761 as league-wide offense cratered last season, but he posted an OPS no lower than .880 in each season from 2013 to 2018. He should return to somewhere near that level this year if the ball has indeed changed again.

Jeon completes this veteran trio, which has an average age of 34.3. Through 11 games, he's hitting .320/.346/.640 and has scored 12 times, driving himself in with a homer on four occasions. The 34-year-old saw his power dip last season along with the rest of the league, but his 22 homers were still a respectable total. If offense remains high for the rest of this season, he could be a 30-homer guy, as he hit 33 back in 2018.