This article is part of our DraftKings KBO series.
Sunday's KBO action saw a pair of teams complete sweeps, with the Heroes defeating the Wyverns for their fifth win in a row and the Bears taking all three games against their local rivals, the Twins. The Bears have now tied the Twins for second place, sitting 3.5 games back of the stumbling Dinos, while the Heroes sit half a game behind that pair. Elsewhere, Hyun Jong Yang was blown up by the Lions for seven earned runs in just four innings, while William Cuevas, Raul Alcantara, Eric Jokisch and Jung Hyun Baek all threw seven or more innings while allowing no more than one run. Tuesday's slate kicks off the eighth week of the KBO season, highlighted by a top-four battle between the Heroes and Twins as well as an interesting matchup between the suddenly beatable Dinos and the resurgent Wiz. Tuesday's games seem to include more than their fair share of stack options, though there are a few top-tier arms available as well.
Pitchers
Aaron Brooks ($8,400 DraftKings, $25 FanDuel as "Kia Starting P") looks like the best value on both sites, as it's hard to explain why he's cheaper than three other arms on both platforms. The 30-year-old righty has cruised to a 3.00 ERA and a 1.19 WHIP through his first eight starts in Korea, numbers which look quite sustainable. He's actually had some bad batted-ball luck, as he's allowed a .341 BABIP, and his combination of a 21.9 percent strikeout rate and 4.2
Sunday's KBO action saw a pair of teams complete sweeps, with the Heroes defeating the Wyverns for their fifth win in a row and the Bears taking all three games against their local rivals, the Twins. The Bears have now tied the Twins for second place, sitting 3.5 games back of the stumbling Dinos, while the Heroes sit half a game behind that pair. Elsewhere, Hyun Jong Yang was blown up by the Lions for seven earned runs in just four innings, while William Cuevas, Raul Alcantara, Eric Jokisch and Jung Hyun Baek all threw seven or more innings while allowing no more than one run. Tuesday's slate kicks off the eighth week of the KBO season, highlighted by a top-four battle between the Heroes and Twins as well as an interesting matchup between the suddenly beatable Dinos and the resurgent Wiz. Tuesday's games seem to include more than their fair share of stack options, though there are a few top-tier arms available as well.
Pitchers
Aaron Brooks ($8,400 DraftKings, $25 FanDuel as "Kia Starting P") looks like the best value on both sites, as it's hard to explain why he's cheaper than three other arms on both platforms. The 30-year-old righty has cruised to a 3.00 ERA and a 1.19 WHIP through his first eight starts in Korea, numbers which look quite sustainable. He's actually had some bad batted-ball luck, as he's allowed a .341 BABIP, and his combination of a 21.9 percent strikeout rate and 4.2 percent walk rate is excellent. To top it all off, he gets to face a Giants lineup which ranks eighth in runs per game this season.
Drew Rucinski ($9,200 DraftKings, $28 FanDuel as "NC Starting P") is the most expensive option on both sites and faces a decent Wiz lineup which sits fifth in scoring, but he's talented enough to be worth shelling out for. He's posted an excellent 2.50 ERA and a 1.15 WHIP so far this season, improving on his 3.05 ERA and 1.18 WHIP from last season even as the overall offensive level rises. He struck out a modest 16.3 percent of opposing batters in his debut season in Korea but has seen his strikeout rate shoot up to 23.8 percent this year, fifth-best among qualified starters.
For a cheaper option on DraftKings, consider Chae Heung Choi ($7,300 DraftKings, $27 FanDuel as "Samsung Starting P"). His inclusion here isn't an endorsement of his talent, as his mediocre 4.41 ERA probably overstates his abilities, given that he's walking 12.0 percent of opposing batters while striking out a modest 16.9 percent. Instead, it's an endorsement of the fact that nearly every pitcher who gets to face the Eagles is worth consideration. Choi's odds of securing a win couldn't be any higher than when he faces a team with a 23.8 percent winning percentage, and the Eagles' bats shouldn't test him too much, as they've scored a league-worst 3.4 runs per game and have scored just 3.1 runs per game in June.
Top Targets
Preston Tucker's ($5,700 DraftKings, $17 FanDuel) Tigers deserve stack consideration against Giants righty Jun Won Seo, whose 3.71 ERA isn't backed up by his 11.8 percent strikeout rate. Whether or not you include any of his teammates, Tucker himself looks to be set for a big day. His hitless game Sunday ended a 10-game hitting streak in which he hit an incredible .472/.568/.833. His season-long numbers remain excellent, as he leads the league with 40 RBI while sitting fourth with 11 homers.
Sung Bum Na ($6,000 DraftKings, $17 FanDuel) was stuck in a seven-game slump, hitting just .172 while striking out 15 times, but a weekend series against the Eagles proved to be exactly what he needed to wake his bat up, as he went 6-for-13 with a homer over that three-game set. He's now hitting .319/.397/.620 on the season, sitting third in homers (12), second in runs (36) and tied for fourth in RBI (35). He'll get the platoon advantage against Odrisamer Despaigne, who started the season quite strong but owns an 8.18 ERA and a 1.91 WHIP over his last four starts, He did allow just two runs in seven innings his last time out against the Wyverns, but his 3:4 K:BB in that contest hardly suggests he's sorted everything out.
Bargain Bats
The Bears face struggling lefty Tae Hoon Kim on Tuesday, who's walked more batters than he's struck out en route to an unimpressive 4.74 ERA. They certainly deserve stack consideration here, though the fact that most of the Bears' top bats will get the platoon disadvantage was enough for me to turn elsewhere for this piece. Right-handed outfielder Kun Woo Park ($3,500 DraftKings, $12 FanDuel) provides an affordable way to grab a piece of the league's second-best lineup, however. While he did go hitless in his last two games, he still owns an excellent .406/.449/.551 slash line over his last 18 contests. He'll bat either first or third in this one and should be a big part of whatever the Bears manage against Kim.
41-year-old Yong Taik Park ($2,000 DraftKings, $8 FanDuel) may not be the player he once was, but he's far better than the minimum-price option he's listed at on DraftKings. He's only homered once in the last two seasons, but he remains a strong contact hitter, hitting .311 this season. He's been particularly good in the month of June, hitting .380. At his age, the KBO's all-time hits leader doesn't take the field every day, but he's batted fifth in two of the Twins' last three games. If he follows Roberto Ramos in that spot again Tuesday against Heroes' righty Won Tae Choi, who owns an unimpressive 4.34 ERA this season, he'll be a strong budget choice.
Stacks To Consider
Heroes vs. Yun Sik Kim: Ha Seong Kim ($5,400 DraftKings, $15 FanDuel), Dong Won Park ($5,300 DraftKings, $10 FanDuel), Byung Ho Park ($4,300 DraftKings, $13 FanDuel)
Yun Sik Kim, an 18-year-old lefty taken with the third-overall pick in this year's draft, could well be a top pitcher in the KBO one day, but there's little reason to believe he's one now. It's hard to have much faith in an unproven pitcher in his first career start against a solid Heroes lineup which ranks fourth in runs per game. Kim's 7:1 K:BB in 8.1 innings of relief is a fine mark, but his 7.56 ERA certainly isn't. There's also some uncertainty regarding how deep he'll be able to go in this game. He did throw 5.1 innings in a Futures League start back on June 9 but has thrown just 2.2 total innings since then.
With a lefty on the mound for the Twins, we'll look to stack the Heroes' top right-handed bats here. Ha Seong Kim leads that group. The 24-year-old's .890 OPS doesn't seem to stand out from his numbers the last five seasons, where he finished with an OPS between .832 and .889 each year, but it understates how well he's been playing for most of the campaign. He had a rough first 11 games, hitting .143/.234/.238, but has been on fire ever since, hitting .322/.447/.591 over his last 31 contests. He's coming off a pair of multi-hit games and should have a good shot at another with the platoon advantage against an unproven southpaw.
Dong Won Park moved up to the cleanup spot for the Heroes' last two games, and it's hard to say that role is undeserved. After being a below-average hitter for the majority of his career, the catcher broke out to hit .297/.360/.445 in his age-29 season last year. He's reached an even higher level this season, hitting .304/.371/.560. His .931 OPS edges out the great Eui Ji Yang's .928 mark for the top spot among all qualified catchers this season. While he's been in a bit of a slump of late, going hitless in his last three games and recording just two hits in his last seven, a matchup against an untested young lefty should help him get back to his previous form.
Byung Ho Park has had some serious contact issues this season, striking out in a league-worst 31.5 percent of his plate appearances, knocking his batting average down to .205. He still has plenty of power, though, as his eight homers tie him for eighth in the league. His bat has shown signs of life lately, as two of those homers have come in his last five games, a stretch in which he's gone 4-for-14 with a respectable five strikeouts. That stretch bookends a brief absence due to a side injury, but he returned Saturday and grabbed a hit in both weekend games against the Wyverns, so he appears to be healthy.
Lions vs. Chad Bell: Tyler Saladino ($4,700 DraftKings, $9 FanDuel), Sang Su Kim ($5,100 DraftKings, $8 FanDuel), Won Seok Lee ($4,200 DraftKings, $8 FanDuel)
Bell's season debut was delayed due to elbow issues, and it's not clear that he's fully healthy. In five starts this season, he's recorded an awful 8.44 ERA and a 2.11 WHIP. His numbers are unlikely to remain quite that bad, but his 15:14 K:BB hardly suggests he deserves much better. Even if he does recapture his form from last season, he'd be a good but not great starter, as his 3.50 ERA and 1.31 WHIP were hardly intimidating. Unless he pitches dramatically differently from all his previous outings this season, the Lions bats should be in for a big day in the league's most hitter-friendly park, Daegu Samsung Lions Park.
Not a single Lions hitter costs more than $9 on FanDuel, making them a very appealing stack on that site, but they're worth a look on DraftKings as well given the matchup. Saladino should lead the stack on either site, with his third-base eligibility on DraftKings making up for his higher price. It's not as if he needs a boost, though, as his high DraftKings price seems quite fair given what he's done lately. After struggling to an awful .128/.209/.231 slash line through his first 14 KBO games, he's suddenly caught fire, hitting a remarkable .372/.500/.654. He's worth a look in most games even when he isn't facing a starter who's been as poor as Bell.
Leadoff man Kim has the prototypical skillset for his role. The 30-year-old has never slugged higher than .417 in any of his 12 KBO seasons, but he's become quite good at drawing walks, walking in 12.4 percent of his plate appearances this season, helping him to a strong .324/.429/.396 slash line. He has good speed as well, stealing five bases this season after swiping 21 bags last year. His complete lack of power means he's somewhat overpriced on DraftKings, though he's still worth consideration there given the matchup and his eligibility at both second and third base.
Lee's DraftKings price is out of line with his season numbers, but he's still worth consideration given the park, the matchup and his spot in the order, as he typically hits fourth or fifth. While he's hitting a modest .254/.319/.432 this season, those numbers could rise along with his .274 BABIP. He hit as high as .301 just two years ago, when most of his underlying numbers were quite similar but his BABIP jumped to .343. He's shown solid power in each of the last three seasons, hitting 18-20 homers each year, and could hit his fifth bomb of the year Tuesday against a struggling southpaw in a park where the ball flies out of the yard.
