DFS KBO: Tuesday Cheat Sheet

Through three weeks of the 2020 KBO season, the Dinos look like the clear class of the league, pulling into a three-game lead over the second-place Twins. Their dominance is backed by their underlying stats, as their plus-43 run differential is 26 runs better than the next-best mark, posted by the Wiz. The Twins, Tigers and Heroes all look like contenders as well, joined by either the Bears (10-7, minus-6 run differential) or Wiz (7-10, plus-17 run differential), depending on whether you trust wins or runs. At the other end of the standings, the Eagles, Lions and Wyverns haven't offered much reason for excitement, with the Wyverns looking especially lost with their 3-14 record and minus-46 run differential. Tuesday's slate, which kicks off Week 4, could be a pitching-heavy one, with five foreign pitchers throwing as well as one of the top Korean arms in the Dinos' Chang Mo Koo.

Pitchers

Drew Gagnon ($6,700 DraftKings, $24 FanDuel as "Kia Starting P") should be very highly owned on DraftKings, where he's somewhat inexplicably the cheapest option on the slate. He's been quite good through his first three KBO starts, striking out 34.3 percent of batters en route to a 3.86 ERA and 1.16 WHIP. That kind of strikeout upside is nearly impossible to find in this league. He'll face a Wiz lineup that leads the league in scoring this season but is without star slugger Baek Ho Kang due to a wrist injury.

Dan Straily ($7,300 DraftKings, $24 FanDuel as "Lotte Starting P") is another option who's far cheaper than he should be. Even after allowing five runs in five innings his last time out against the Tigers, his ERA stands at a solid 3.68. Like Gagnon, however, he's particularly interesting due to his ability to offer rare strikeout upside. He's struck out 27.2 percent of the batters he's faced this season, including an 11-strikeout performance against the Wyverns in his second start. He faces a Lions lineup that ranks a mediocre sixth in scoring despite possessing the league's most hitter-friendly home park.

Tyler Wilson ($7,600 DraftKings, $26  FanDuel as "LG Starting P") completes the trio of Americans who are confusingly cheap on DraftKings and still fairly priced on FanDuel. Wilson's 5.71 ERA on the season still looks poor, but that's almost entirely attributable to his awful first start, when he allowed seven runs in 4.1 innings against the Dinos while likely still being affected by the two-week quarantine he had to go through when returning from his stateside home. He's struck out 13 while walking three and allowing just four earned runs over his last two starts, and now gets to face an Eagles lineup that ranks second-last in runs per game.

Top Targets

It's rarely a bad idea to include Jose Fernandez ($6,000 DraftKings, $18 FanDuel), the highest-priced player on both sites. Through 17 games, last year's hits leader owns a ludicrous .500/.544/.764 slash line and has a six-hit lead on the rest of the field. Sure, his .508 BABIP is bound to fall, but Fernandez has a long way to fall while still being one of the league's best hitters. He'll get the platoon advantage in this one against Wyverns righty Jong Hoon Park, whose decent 4.20 ERA this season comes with a poor 1.73 WHIP.

Fernandez's teammate Jae Hwan Kim ($5,500 DraftKings, $17 FanDuel) is similarly worth considering nearly every time the Bears face a righty. (The Bears easily could have been a stack recommendation in this one if not for the pair of cheaper options discussed below.) The cleanup hitter missed a game with a foot injury in the middle of last week but played all three games against the Lions in the weekend series and looked fine, reaching base five times. The Bears' loaded lineup has helped him score 13 runs and drive in 15 more through 16 games.

Bargain Bats

Roberto Ramos ($3,600 DraftKings, $16 FanDuel) obviously isn't a bargain on FanDuel, where his price is a more accurate representation of his talent, but he earns a mention here because he's very much still worth consideration at his cheap DraftKings price even with the left-handed Chad Bell on the mound for the Eagles. For one, the KBO home-run leader has shown an ability to mash against lefties in this league, grabbing two homers in just 13 at-bats against southpaws. Additionally, Bell threw just two innings in a rehab start earlier in the week as he works his way back from an elbow issue, so there's a good chance Ramos won't be at a platoon disadvantage for more than an at-bat or two.

While Dan Straily was mentioned as a pitcher to target due, in part, to the Lions' weak lineup, he's not so intimidating that you should be afraid to use any hitters against him. Hak Ju Lee ($3,300 DraftKings, $6 FanDuel) is quickly becoming one of my favorite values due to his shortstop eligibility on DraftKings and his very low price on FanDuel. His .211/.333/.395 season slash line is hardly impressive, but he's hit third in two of his last three games, grabbing an extra-base hit in all three, and will get the platoon advantage at a park that is still fairly hitter-friendly, even if it's more neutral than the Lions' home stadium.

Stacks to Consider

Dinos vs. Seung Ho Lee: Eui Ji Yang ($5,000 DraftKings, $13 FanDuel), Jin Sung Kang ($2,700 DraftKings, $10 FanDuel), Suk Min Park ($4,100 DraftKings, $10 FanDuel)

Lee is by no means terrible, but he stands out as one of the easier pitchers to pick on in a slate that is quite pitching-heavy. In 182.1 career innings, split across three seasons, the 21-year-old lefty has a 4.79 ERA and 1.49 strikeout rate. His 16.6 percent career strikeout rate and 9.8 percent walk rate are both worse than league average. He had a strong performance his last time out, striking out seven Wyverns in five innings while allowing just two runs, but the Dinos' offense should provide a much tougher test.

Yang is deservedly the most expensive catcher on DraftKings by quite a margin. He finished second in MVP voting last season after leading the league with a 1.017 OPS. He's battled multiple minor injuries this season, sitting out Sunday with a neck issue after leaving Saturday's contest following a home-plate collision. That makes him a risky play if you're unable to check your team after lineups are announced, but if he's able to play, the cleanup hitter could be in for a big day with the platoon advantage against an unimpressive young lefty, as he's hitting an excellent .313/.414/.500 even while battling through several minor ailments.

Yang's biggest competition for my favorite catcher on DraftKings comes from his teammate, Kang, who retains his eligibility at the position despite playing just one inning there his entire career. Kang had next to no track record prior to this season and didn't play a role in the Dinos' first few games, but he's moved into an everyday role at first base in the absence of Chang Min Mo (shoulder) and has done nothing but crush the ball. In 45 plate appearances this season, he's hitting an absurd .500/.558/.895 with four homers.

Park is particularly interesting on FanDuel, where he's quite cheap, but his third-base eligibility makes him useful on DraftKings as well. After posting an OPS of .926 or better in seven of eight seasons during his prime from 2009 to 2016, the veteran has fallen off a bit in his early 30s. He's returning to his previous form in the early going this year, however, hitting .271/.386/.542 with four homers.

Giants vs. Chae Heung Choi: Jun Woo Jeon ($4,500 DraftKings, $14 FanDuel), Dae Ho Lee ($4,200 DraftKings, $11 FanDuel), Byung Hun Min ($3,900 DraftKings, $11 FanDuel)

Choi isn't bad either, but he looks like one of the weaker options on a slate that's full of quality arms. His 2.65 ERA and 1.12 WHIP through his first three starts this season are both quite strong, but it's taken a .222 BABIP and 80.7 percent strand rate to get him there. Over a larger sample of 106.2 innings as a swingman last season, he struggled to a 4.81 ERA and 1.53 WHIP, though he could blame a .342 BABIP and 64.7 percent strand rate for those numbers. Overall, he looks mediocre, and a mediocre arm pitching in the most hitter-friendly park on the slate, Busan Sajik Baseball Stadium, is one worth stacking against.

The Giants' offense hasn't been particularly good this season, ranking eighth in scoring, but that helps makes this stack a fairly cheap one. Veteran outfielder Jeon is the best of the bunch. He saw his OPS fall from .993 in 2018 to a still-strong .844 last season, due at least in part to the de-juiced ball, but he's rebounded early this year, recording a .917 OPS while homering four times.

Lee can still hit at age 37, as evidenced by his .344/.397/.469 season slash line. His power is down, as he's hit just one homer, though whether that's evidence of understandable aging or simply small sample size remains to be seen. He did see his home-run total collapse from 37 in 2018 to 16 last year, though the de-juiced ball meant that was true for most hitters across the board. Even if he doesn't homer in this one, the Giants' cleanup hitter is a good value, especially on FanDuel, where he's quite cheap and doesn't prevent you from including other top first basemen.

Leadoff man Min completes this mid-priced stack of right-handed veterans. He's hitting a respectable .282/.329/.451 to open the season, though there's room for improvement judging by his track record. He's recorded a batting average of .303 or better and an on-base percentage of .377 or better in seven straight seasons. With the platoon advantage against an unimpressive lefty in a hitter-friendly park, Min could get the chance to score early and often in this one.