DFS KBO: Tuesday Cheat Sheet

Sunday's KBO action featured quite a few significant results. The Heroes and Bears played to a 6-6 tie, with Jae Il Oh leading the way with four hits. That was enough to move the Heroes into a tie for first place with the Dinos, who fell 4-3 to the Tigers following a quality start from Aaron Brooks. Elsewhere, the Wiz moved into a tie with the Bears for fourth place after coming back to beat the Eagles by a 5-4 score, rallying for three runs in the bottom of the ninth in a run capped by Mel Rojas Jr.'s two-out walkoff double. Meanwhile, the Twins got blown out by the Lions, 11-0, with Chae Heung Choi striking out 10 in a complete-game shutout and Dong Yeop Kim recording five hits. Finally, the Wyverns beat the Giants 3-1, with Ricardo Pinto allowing just one run in six frames despite posting a 1:5 K:BB. 

Tuesday's slate should be an interesting one, as most of the top pitchers are facing some of the league's best lineups.

Pitchers

Raul Alcantara ($10,800) is the clear best pitcher on the slate, though he's also the most expensive and is tasked with facing the league's top lineup, though he'll at least be facing the Dinos at home in pitcher-friendly Jamsil Baseball Stadium. The Dinos are by no means an easy matchup even with the team struggling, but Alcantara is virtually matchup-proof. He gave up four runs in six innings against the Tigers in his final start of August, ending a streak of 13 straight quality starts, but that clearly wasn't the start of a slump. In his first two September starts, he's thrown 13 scoreless innings, striking out 14 while walking four and allowing nine hits.

While the Lions did explode for 11 runs on Sunday, their offense still ranks eighth in scoring. That should make Odrisamer Despaigne ($8,400) worth paying up for in this one. The Cuban righty hasn't been entirely reliable this season, but he's been good enough overall, posting a 3.96 ERA and a 1.38 WHIP. He doesn't have big strikeout upside, as his 18.1 percent strikeout rate is right around league average and he hasn't whiffed more than five batters in any of his six starts, but he generally keeps runs off the board quite well. While he's only struck out eight batters in 15 innings over his last two starts, he's also only allowed three runs on 11 hits while walking just three.

Among the day's cheaper options, Min Woo Kim ($7,000) offers the most upside. He's facing a tough task against the Twins' third-ranked lineup, though they've managed just three runs in their last three games. As for Kim himself, his 4.12 ERA and 1.39 WHIP are fine but unremarkable, but his 21.3 percent strikeout rate is quite strong, ranking sixth among pitchers who have thrown at least 100 innings. That's generally been offset by a poor 11.4 percent walk rate, which ranks second-worst among the same group, but a high-strikeout, high-walk profile at least offers a high ceiling to go along with a low floor. He's been quite good over his last three starts, striking out seven batters in each while posting a 2.60 ERA and a 1.10 WHIP.

Top Targets

Mel Rojas Jr. ($5,800) has merely the fourth-highest price tag among the hitters on this slate, surprisingly affordable for the MVP favorite. He continues to lead the league in several categories, including homers (37), RBI (102) and OPS (1.091). He slumped to a .132/.150/.276 line in his last 17 games in August, but he's bounced all the way back in September, going hitless just once in 12 games while posting a .391/.453/.783 slash line. He'll face David Buchanan on Tuesday, a pitcher who's generally good but not dominant and who has allowed four runs in two of his last three starts.

The Bears aren't one of the top stack options on this slate, though I wouldn't avoid their hitters entirely against Mike Wright, who's allowed four runs in three of his last five outings. Jae Il Oh ($4,200) is cheaper than most of the team's best hitters but has been the best of the bunch lately. After his four-hit day Sunday, he now owns a .364/.488/.727 line in 10 September games, homering three times and driving in 12 runs. That's raised his season slash line to .334/.401/.530.

Bargain Bats

Dae Ho Lee ($3,500) has to compete at a very deep first base position, though he's a quality budget option for those looking to save space to splurge elsewhere. While the 38-year-old may not have the quadruple-digit OPS that he posted three times at his peak, his .832 mark, the product of a .292/.365/.467 slash line, is quite acceptable for his price. He's currently riding a seven-game hitting streak, hitting .357/.400/.500 over that stretch. The veteran should stay hot with the platoon advantage against Heroes rookie Jae Woong Kim, who's allowed nine runs (eight earned) in 7.2 innings over his last two starts.

I've written more or less this exact same sentence quite a few times lately: If the Eagles had enough reliable bats, they could have been one of the top stack recommendations on this slate, as they face rookie Min Ho Lee, who owns a 10.80 ERA and a 1.95 WHIP over his last four starts. They don't have enough hitters I feel comfortable recommending, however, though their top-scoring hitter, Yong Kyu Lee ($3,300) is again worthy of consideration. He'll get the platoon advantage against the young righty and has swung quite a hot bat over his last 19 games, hitting .356/.453/.438. He has just 12 extra-base hits all year (and just one homer), but he's a very good bet to reach base multiple times in this one.

Stacks to Consider

Tigers vs. Young Woo Jo: Preston Tucker ($5,600), Hyoung Woo Choi ($4,900), Ji Wan Na ($3,700)

The surging Tigers have won nine of their last 11 games, scoring 5.8 runs over that stretch, a number which would rank third if they'd kept it up all season. They should be able to keep that kind of performance up Tuesday in what could be a bullpen day from the pitching staff which has allowed the most runs per game in the league this season. Jo hasn't started a single game this season, though it's possible he goes fairly deep into this one as he threw four innings his last time out. If he does, that'll be good for the Tigers, as he owns a 6.55 ERA and a 1.66 WHIP on the season, striking out just 11.4 percent of opposing batters. If he's pulled early, that won't hurt the Tigers either, as they'll face the soft underbelly of the league's worst staff.

Tucker is among the best hitters in the league when he's on, and he's certainly on now. In his last 18 games, he's hitting .333/.442/.681 with six homers, 16 runs and 17 RBI. On the season as a whole, he ranks third in OPS (.990), fourth in homers (26), seventh in runs (76) and tied for seventh in RBI (83). He'll bat second in this one and will get the platoon advantage for however long Jo remains on the mound.

Choi follows Tucker out of the third spot, giving the Tigers a formidable pair of left-handed sluggers. His overall .334/.424/.531 slash line is perhaps a small step down from the absolute best bats in the league, though that's reflected in his price. The 36-year-old hasn't lost much of a step this season, as he's set to finish with an OPS north of .900 for the eighth straight campaign. He hasn't slowed down as the season's gone on, either, as he's hitting .373/.449/.608 over his last 26 games.

Cleanup man Na won't get the platoon advantage during Jo's innings, unlike the aforementioned pair, though Jo's innings may not last very long. Even if they do, Na should provide more than enough value to be worth his rather modest price. The 35-year-old left fielder appeared to be falling off last season, as he struggled to a .186/.305/.364 line in 56 games, but he's bounced back in a big way this year, hitting .299/.394/.467. He's playing some of his best baseball of the season at the moment, as he's riding a 12-game hitting streak, hitting  .378/.481/.644 over that stretch.

Heroes vs. Kyung Eun Noh: Jung Hoo Lee ($6,000), Ha Seong Kim ($5,800), Woong Bin Kim ($3,700)

The 36-year-old Noh was out of the league entirely in 2019, pitching in Australia. He's been decent enough this season, though his 4.80 ERA certainly won't intimidate anyone. He avoids free passes well, walking just 5.7 percent of opposing batters, but that's about the only good thing about his line. He allows far too much contact, striking out batters at just a 13.5 percent clip, and far too much of that contact goes over the fence, as seen in his 1.4 HR/9. While he did look good against the Dinos his last time out, that followed a pair of starts in which he allowed 12 runs (10 earned) on 18 hits in 10 innings.

An unimposing righty on the mound means it's time to kick this stack off with the left-handed Lee. The 22-year-old hit .324 or better in his first three KBO campaigns but with very little power. He's breaking out this season, however, as his 15 homers are already more than the 14 he managed in his first three years combined. He hasn't sacrificed any contact to get there, as he's hitting .339 while striking out 7.9 percent of the time. The outfielder was on a bit of a slump in late August and early September, but he's now gone 9-for-18 over his last four games.

Ha Seong Kim, who could be made available for MLB teams to sign this offseason, has been nearly as good as Lee this season, as his .922 OPS doesn't trail his teammate's .959 mark by much. It's quite an impressive number for a player who primarily plays shortstop; among regular shortstops, the Dinos' Jin Hyuk No ranks second but is over 100 points behind, posting an .818 OPS. Kim's 24 homers lead all other shortstops by nine, while his 19 steals rank second at the position. It's an impressive all-around resume that's well worth his expensive price tag.

24-year-old Woong Bin Kim didn't do much of note in 81 career games prior to this season and spent much of this year either in the Futures League or out with a hamstring injury, but he's emerged as the regular first baseman in the absence of Byung Ho Park (finger) and offers a fairly cheap left-handed option to round out this stack. His overall .292/.342/.515 slash line is quite solid, as are his seven homers in just 46 games. Four of those homers have come in his last 14 contests, a stretch in which he's hitting .378/.481/.711.