This article is part of our DraftKings KBO series.
We're through one week of the KBO campaign, and it's been quite comforting to get back into the familiar rhythms of a baseball season, even if those rhythms are somewhat inconveniently time-shifted. The small size of the 10-team league means it hasn't been terribly difficult to learn the league's top players, with some familiar names earning recurring spots in this column and in DFS lineups. Players' prices are somewhat all over the map still at this early point in the season, which rewards those who put in the time to do some research and hunt for bargains. Tuesday's slate could be a fairly low-scoring one, as most teams are trotting out their aces or No. 2 starters (depending on whether or not they were one of six teams to be rained out Saturday). This group of pitchers should be somewhat recognizable to American fans, as seven of the 10 starters have MLB experience.
PITCHERS
Note: FanDuel is using Team Starting Pitchers rather than individual starting pitchers, presumably to guard against last-minute changes which could occur at hours of the night when most reasonable Americans won't be checking their fantasy lineups.
Aaron Brooks ($7,500 DraftKings, $21 FanDuel as "Kia Starting P") is a mid-priced option on DraftKings and the second-cheapest starting pitcher on FanDuel, something of a surprise given the success most foreign pitchers have had early in the season. Brooks fits right in with that group, having held the Heroes to just one run in 5.2 innings while striking out six and walking none in his KBO debut. He now faces an Eagles offense that finished third-worst in runs per game last season and is second-worst in that category this season.
Eric Jokisch ($8,700 DraftKings, $25 FanDuel as "Kiwoom Starting P") has the second-highest price on both sites, but he'll have a good shot to be worth that price. The American lefty is an established talent at the KBO level, recording a strong 3.13 ERA and 1.13 WHIP in his debut season for the Heroes last year. He looked good in his first start this season, allowing one run in five innings against the Tigers, and he'll now face a Lions lineup that finished seventh in the league in runs per game last season and that occupies that same position this year.
Odrisamer Despaigne ($8,200 DraftKings, $22 FanDuel as "KT Starting P") is certainly a risk, as he faces a Dinos lineup that's leading the league in runs per game this season. That's enough for me to stay away on DraftKings, where he's quite expensive, but he could be worth a shot as a cheap option on FanDuel. The six-year MLB veteran looked great in his KBO debut, striking out eight and walking none while allowing just one run in six innings against the undefeated Giants.
TOP TARGETS
It can be relatively difficult to find elite bats at third base or shortstop on DraftKings, but the Wyverns' Jeong Choi ($5,100 DraftKings, $16 FanDuel) fits the bill at either spot. He's expensive, and he hasn't done much this season, grabbing three hits in five games, but that's a tiny sample compared to his long track record of KBO success. He's recorded an OPS north of .900 for 10 straight seasons and has averaged 37.5 homers over the last four.
Hyun Soo Kim ($5,400 DraftKings, $14 FanDuel) has looked great ever since returning from a two-year stint in MLB, posting a 1.013 OPS in 2018 and an .813 mark last season. He's been on a roll to start this season, grabbing eight hits, four runs and four RBI through five games. The left-handed hitter will face Nick Kingham, who's making his second KBO start after leaving MLB for the Wyverns this offseason. All foreign pitchers in the KBO should be considered at least fairly good until proven otherwise, but Kingham doesn't look like the sort of pitcher you should completely avoid starting hitters against, as he has a career 6.08 ERA at the MLB level and struck out just four batters in seven innings in his first KBO start.
VALUE BATS
Sung Bum Na ($3,600 DraftKings, $11 FanDuel) is worth an inclusion against pretty much every righty until his price rises to match his track record. He doesn't seem slowed by the knee injury that cost him the majority of the 2019 season, posting an .879 OPS through his first five games while recording more walks (four) than strikeouts (three). He's facing Odrisamer Despaigne, a pitcher who looked quite good in his first KBO start, earning him a mention above, but he's talented enough to do damage against pretty much anyone. He's a nearly permanent inclusion in my lineups as long as he remains this cheap.
It's rare to find an everyday leadoff hitter as cheap as Won Joon Choi ($2,700 DraftKings, $8 FanDuel). The 23-year-old is likely so inexpensive due to the fact that he struggled greatly last season, posting a miserable .198/.262/.284 slash line in 90 games. He looked better in three small-sample seasons before that, however, and he's looked quite good in the early going this year, hitting .318/.400/.364 in six contests. The fact that the Tigers trust him in the leadoff spot indicates that they don't believe his 2019 numbers are an accurate reflection of his talent. If you trust them to know their player, don't hesitate to jump at the chance to grab a key spot in the lineup against a weak starting pitcher (discussed below) for such a cheap price.
STACKS TO CONSIDER
Bears vs. Won Sam Jang: Kun Woo Park ($3,900 DraftKings, $13 FanDuel), Kyoung Min Hur ($3,100 DraftKings, $8 FanDuel), Jae Ho Kim ($2,300 DraftKings, $8 FanDuel)
A quick glance at Jang's recent ERAs should be all you need to realize that he's the primary stack target on the slate. Those come in at 5.80, 7.01, 5.61, 6.16 and 7.98 over the last five seasons. The veteran lefty had quite a lot of success early in his career, but it looks as though he's been washed up for quite some time. The Bears' offense, which finished second in runs per game last season and ranks fourth in that category this year, could put up crooked numbers against the southpaw.
The issue with stacking the Bears in this contest is that the majority of their best hitters are lefties, and it's typically best practices to avoid a left-on-left matchup wherever possible. Leadoff man Park, who bats right-handed, will therefore be an important piece of any Bears stack in this game. Park has struggled through five games, hitting .158 with a .554 OPS, but those five games pale in comparison to his last five years, where he never recorded a batting average below .319 or an OPS below .848.
Hur is very cheap on both sites, and not without reason. He's primarily hit eighth against righties and hasn't had much success on the season overall, hitting .227 with a .500 OPS through five games. He hit second against a southpaw on Opening Day, however, and could be good value if he returns to that spot Tuesday. He's been a productive hitter the last two seasons, recording an .841 OPS in 2018 and a .728 mark in 2019, the latter representing still an above-average number as league-wide offense plummeted due to the dejuiced ball.
The Bears' third, fourth and fifth hitters in their only game against a lefty this season all bat left-handed, so we'll have to drop down to the sixth spot to complete the stack. Shortstop Kim, who's occupied that spot against both righties and lefties, rounds out what should be a very cheap trio. The 35-year-old bats lower in the order than you'd like, but he's looked good, going 8-for-19 at the plate. He hit .293 or better for four straight seasons from 2015 to 2018 and managed a respectable .268 mark in the lower offensive environment last season.
Tigers vs. Min Woo Kim: Preston Tucker ($5,500 DraftKings, $13 FanDuel), Won Joon Choi ($2,700 DraftKings, $8 FanDuel), Hyung Woo Choi ($6,000 DraftKings, $14 FanDuel)
The 24-year-old Kim has yet to find much success as he heads into his sixth KBO season. He owns a career 6.85 ERA and recorded ERAs of 6.52 and 6.75 in the last two campaigns, respectively. Both his 14.6 percent strikeout rate and 9.5 percent walk rate last season were poor. His first start this year didn't give any reason to believe that he's suddenly turned things around, as he gave up a pair of homers and three runs total while failing to get out of the fifth inning against the Wyverns. The Tigers haven't really gotten their bats going this season, ranking eighth in runs per game after finishing ninth in that category last season, but Kim might be the jump-start they need.
Tucker has lived up to the lofty expectations placed on foreign hitters. The left-handed outfielder joined the Tigers in the middle of last year, hitting .311/.382/.479 in 95 games. He managed just nine homers in those contests but is already a third of the way to tying that total just six games into the 2020 campaign. He hit two homers as part of a five-hit game against the Lions on Sunday.
Won Joon Choi's cheap price makes sense given his struggles last season, when he hit .198/.262/.284 in 90 games. It's out of line with his production this season, however, as he's hitting .318 through six games, and it's out of line with his role as the Tigers' leadoff man. He's only scored twice this year but should have a shot to add to that total if the Tigers have a big day against Kim.
Veteran cleanup hitter Hyung Woo Choi should be worth his steep price in this contest. The left-handed slugger has hit 303 career home runs and hasn't recorded a batting average below .300 since back in 2012. He's looked sharp at the start of his age-36 season, hitting .308 with a homer and four RBI through six games.
