DFS KBO: Tuesday Cheat Sheet

Sunday's KBO action saw the Dinos pull 2.5 games ahead atop the standings, as they beat the Giants in both halves of their doubleheader, while the Heroes stumbled against the Lions. In the first game of that twin bill, Mike Wright pitched possibly the best game of the day, striking out seven batters over six scoreless innings. Odrisamer Despaigne can give him a run for that title, however, as, while he struck out just three Wyverns in his six innings, he allowed just a single hit and zero earned runs. On the offensive side, Dong Yeop Kim was the clear top player, as he homered twice and drove in six runs to help the Lions smash the Heroes, 14-6. Elsewhere, in a battle of local rivals, Roberto Ramos and Jae Hwan Kim both homered and drove in three runs as Kim's Bears defeated Ramos's Twins by a 6-5 score. 

Nearly every matchup will be critical in the final few weeks of the regular season with such a tight playoff race, and that's as true as ever Tuesday, a slate which contains quite a few interesting pitchers.

Pitchers

Due to Dan Straily's recent struggles and tough matchup, Casey Kelly ($8,500) looks like the top option on this slate. After producing an excellent 2.55 ERA and a 1.14 WHIP in his debut KBO campaign last year, it looked like he was going to fail to follow that up in satisfactory fashion this season, as he owned a mediocre 4.65 ERA and 1.38 WHIP as late as July 25, 14 starts into the season. In his last eight outings, however, he's been in vintage form, cruising to a 1.94 ERA and a 1.02 WHIP, allowing two or more earned runs just twice. He'll face the ninth-ranked Wyverns lineup in this one.

Chris Flexen ($8,200) should be the next-best option in a rather deep top tier, primarily because he faces the last-ranked Eagles lineup, a unit which has scored just 3.6 runs per game and which contains no regulars with an OPS higher than .716. Flexen would be quite a strong choice against a considerably better lineup, however. He missed nearly two months with a fractured foot and threw just three innings in his first start back, but he lasted five innings and threw 93 pitches in his previous outing, holding the league-leading Dinos to two earned runs, so there should be no concerns about his workload here. Overall this season, he perhaps deserves better than his solid 3.76 ERA, as his combination of a 23.0 percent strikeout rate and a 7.8 percent walk rate is quite strong.

Among the day's cheaper options, Hyun Hee Han ($6,700) appears to be the strongest. He hasn't been the most reliable pitcher this season, as his 5.31 ERA suggests, though his 1.33 WHIP, 18.6 percent strikeout rate and 6.0 percent walk rate are all solid numbers. His ERA is significantly inflated by a horrendous two-start stretch in early July in which he allowed 17 runs in just 3.2 innings. Remove those two awful outings and his ERA drops all the way down to 4.15. He's been even better than that in the 11 starts since those disasters, posting a 3.96 ERA and a 0.97 WHIP. He'll face an easy enough assignment Tuesday against the sixth-ranked Tigers lineup.

Top Targets

You could say that Jae Hwan Kim ($4,100) is quite cold, as he has not had a multi-hit game since late August. You could also say he's quite hot, as he's homered in three straight contests. He'll have a decent chance to make it four straight against Eagles righty Shi Hwan Jang on Tuesday, who owns a mediocre 4.75 ERA. Whether you consider him hot or cold, his .269/.376/.484 season slash line means he's quite a good value at by far his cheapest price point in recent memory.

Roberto Ramos ($5,300) has been both hot and cold this season, but he's been in good form for quite a while now. In his last 28 contests, he's hitting .283/.377/.679 with 11 homers and 27 RBI. His home run Sunday was his 34th of the season, placing him three back of league leader Mel Rojas and five up on the next-closest challenger. He'll get the platoon advantage Tuesday against Wyverns righty Jong Hoon Park, who's allowed four homers in his last five starts, a stretch in which he owns a 6.66 ERA.

Bargain Bats

Sticking with the Twins, leadoff man Chang Gi Hong ($2,900) remains quite cheap considering his role in the league's second-best offense. While he did see an 18-game hitting streak end Thursday, he followed that up with a three-hit day the very next day. He's been very good over his last 28 games, hitting .354/.452/.487 while scoring 29 runs. He hasn't shown a ton of speed for a leadoff man, stealing just six bases, but he certainly has the on-base ability for the role. His .286 batting average and 16.0 percent walk rate give him a .409 on-base percentage for the season. Like Ramos, he'll get the platoon advantage against Park here. 

The Giants easily could have been a stack recommendation against Min Soo Kim, who owns a 6.06 ERA and a 1.78 WHIP, though they were edged out here by a pair of slightly more compelling options. Chi Hong An ($3,200) is the cheapest of the Giants' top bats and has also been the hottest lately. While he's been dropped down to the ninth spot, he's been hot enough that I'm open to including him anyway, as he's hitting .471/.550/.735 with two homers and 11 RBI in his last 11 games. On the whole, his .286/.353/.406 season slash line is decent enough considering his price tag, especially as he's chipped in with 14 steals.

Stacks to Consider

Dinos vs. Tae In Won: Eui Ji Yang ($5,800), Min Woo Park ($5,100), Aaron Altherr ($4,900)

Won, a 20-year-old righty, looked to be having quite a good sophomore season early in the campaign, cruising to a 3.12 ERA and a 1.37 WHIP through his first 12 starts. An unimpressive 40:25 K:BB suggested that he was skating by on some good luck, however, indicating regression on the horizon. That regression has indeed come, and it's hit quite hard, as he's posted an 8.41 ERA and a 1.81 WHIP in his last eight starts. He's only gotten worse over that stretch, as he's allowed five or more runs in four straight outings, a stretch in which he owns a 10.59 ERA.

The Dinos are still without Sung Bum Na (hamstring) as of writing, but they likely won't need him to put up big numbers against Won here. Yang is more than capable of leading a lineup on his own, as his .327/.409/.586 line on the season is good for a .995 OPS, putting him in striking distance of posting a four-digit OPS for the third straight year. Among qualified hitters, he trails only Na and Mel Rojas Jr. in that category. He's somehow been considerably better than that since mid-August, however, hitting .405/.472/.738 with 11 homers and 39 RBI over his last 34 games.

Park has dropped back from the leadoff spot to the three hole in the absence of Na, and he's certainly enjoyed hitting directly in front of Yang, posting a .519/.533/.704 slash line in his seven games in the spot. That's just part of an extended hot streak which has seen him hit .408/.466/.534 in 26 games since returning from a hamstring injury in late August. He doesn't have much power considering his price, hitting just four homers on the season, but he'll get the platoon advantage against a struggling righty while occupying a key spot in a very strong lineup, so the cost appears justified.

Deciding between the cheaper and worse options who bat closer to the top of the order or the more expensive but excellent Altherr, who still mysteriously bats eighth, isn't easy to do, but I've gone with Altherr here. He certainly hasn't hit like a number eight hitter this season, as he owns an excellent .296/.371/.563 slash line and sits tied for sixth in homers (24) and tied for seventh in steals (18). He's been even better than that over his last 21 contests, posting a .351.416/.623 slash line.

Lions vs. Young Gyu Kim: Ja Wook Koo ($4,500), Sang Su Kim ($4,300), Dong Yeop Kim ($2,600)

The opposite side of that same contest features an equally appealing stack target. Young Gyu Kim struggled to a 5.29 ERA and a 1.70 WHIP in 66.1 innings as a 19-year-old rookie last season. His sophomore campaign isn't really going any better, as he owns a 6.81 ERA and a 1.57 WHIP through 38.1 frames, starting seven games and relieving in seven more. His 3.5 percent walk rate is quite good, but it may only be that low because opposing hitters are already on base by the time he has a chance to throw four wide ones. He's striking out just 14.6 percent of opposing batters while allowing 2.1 HR/9, more than double the league average.

I'm somewhat hesitantly leading this one with Koo, who will get the platoon disadvantage to start the game, on the theory that he may not be at that disadvantage for long given that Kim has averaged four innings over his last three starts. If you avoid left-on-left matchups at all costs, consider Won Seok Lee ($3,700) to round out this stack instead. Koo shouldn't be overlooked, though, as he's hit an excellent .353/.405/.588 with 15 runs and 17 RBI over his last 17 games. Additionally, he's actually had reverse platoon splits this season, hitting .388 against southpaws.

Sang Su Kim missed most of August with a left leg injury. In the 22 games since his return, he's hitting a solid .306/.379/.365, though that's slightly down from the .328/.431/.441 line he managed prior to the injury. He seems to be trending in the right direction, however, as he owns a .902 OPS over a seven-game hitting streak. On the season as a whole, he has a prototypical leadoff skillset (though he's dropped down to second as Hae Min Park looked quite good in the role while he was on the injured list). He's homered just four times, but he has a respectable 10 steals and a strong 12.3 percent walk rate, helping him to a .418 on-base percentage and likely giving him the chance to score multiple runs Tuesday.

Dong Yeop Kim remains the most mispriced hitter on DraftKings. His price accurately reflects the .258/.295/.407 slash line he owned when he was demoted for the second time in late July. He's just not the same hitter anymore, however, as the demotions had their desired effect. He's hit an excellent .391/.415/.687 with nine homers in 35 games since returning to the team. Over the last nine games, the picture looks even better than that, as he's hitting .500 with five homers, 12 runs, 13 RBI and a 1.447 OPS over that stretch.