This article is part of our DraftKings KBO series.
Tuesday's KBO slate saw the Heroes move into first place thanks to their victory over the Lions and the Giants' loss to the Bears. A clear hierarchy is starting to emerge at the top of the standings, at least when looking at teams' run differentials. The Heroes, Giants and Dinos are the only teams positive in that category, with each team scoring at least 14 more runs than they've allowed, though it's, of course, still quite early, and last year's numbers shouldn't be ignored.
Speaking of last year, it's starting to look suspiciously as though 2019's dejuiced ball may have been a one-year blip. Tuesday's 12 home runs mean teams are now hitting 1.01 homers per game, well above last year's 0.70, though still considerably less than the league's 1.22 homers per game in 2018. Whether that's due to a change in the ball or simply the effect of pitchers being behind to start the year after their interrupted spring trainings remains to be seen.
Pitchers
Note: FanDuel is using Team Starting Pitchers rather than individual starting pitchers, presumably to guard against last-minute changes that could occur at hours of the night when most reasonable Americans won't be checking their fantasy lineups.
Ricardo Pinto ($7,900 DraftKings, $24 FanDuel as "SK Starting P") never did much at the MLB level, struggling to an 8.44 ERA and a 25:19 K:BB in 32 career innings, but the generally high level of performance from foreign pitchers in the KBO means he should be considered a fairly strong option until proven otherwise. He didn't do anything to disprove that notion in his season debut against the Eagles, allowing just one run on three hits in 6.2 innings. He'll face a mediocre Twins lineup Wednesday, a team that ranks fifth in runs per game this year after finishing sixth in that category last season.
Mike Wright ($8,500 DraftKings, $27 FanDuel as "NC Starting P") is expensive, especially on FanDuel, and the fourth-ranked Wiz lineup he'll face isn't the easiest assignment. Still, he could be a strong pick nonetheless. Like most foreign pitchers in the KBO, the fact that he has major-league experience matters more than the fact that he struggled to a 6.00 ERA at that level. He looked good in his Korean debut, striking out seven in five innings against the Lions. He should have a good shot at a win in this game with the league-leading Dinos offense supporting him.
Won Tae Choi ($8,900 DraftKings, $25 FanDuel as "Kiwoom Starting P") is another option who stands a good chance to justify his high price. The 23-year-old has produced strong numbers the last two seasons, recording a 3.95 ERA during the league's high-offense era in 2018 and a 3.38 mark last season. His Heroes play host to a Lions offense that finished seventh in scoring last season and that occupies that same spot this year.
Top-Shelf Targets
Preston Tucker ($5,000 DraftKings, $14 FanDuel) is off to an excellent start at the beginning of his second KBO season. He recorded a strong overall .311/.382/.479 in 95 games with the Tigers last season but didn't show a ton of power, hitting just nine homers. He already has three bombs this season to go with a 1.499 OPS and faces a relatively easy matchup against Eagles righty Shi Hwan Jang, who struggled to a 4.95 ERA last season.
If you don't buy into the Mike Wright resurgence suggested above, Mel Rojas ($5,800 DraftKings, $16 FanDuel) makes a strong case to anchor your lineup. After posting an .914 OPS or higher in each of his first three KBO campaigns, the Wiz outfielder owns a 1.186 mark through the first six games of this season, homering once and doubling four times. As a switch hitter, he'll have the platoon advantage in every at-bat of every game and is rarely a bad choice.
Bargain Buys
Roberto Ramos ($2,900 DraftKings, $15 FanDuel) obviously only fits into this category on DraftKings, though he's likely worth a look on both sites. He isn't facing the easiest matchup, as Wyverns starter Ricardo Pinto was mentioned above as a potential pitcher to target, but the big first baseman looks like he can drive the ball out of the park against whoever's on the mound. He has three homers and two doubles in six games this season, hitting .435/.500/.913 overall. He could get his first shot at the MLB level next season if he keeps this up.
Sung-bum Na ($3,800 DraftKings, $12 FanDuel) will remain one of the best values on both sites until his price starts to align with the rest of the top-tier hitters in the KBO. The slugger hasn't missed a beat since returning from a knee injury that cost him the majority of last season, hitting .304/.429/.565 with a pair of homers through his first six games. Wiz righty William Cuevas certainly isn't one of the most exploitable pitchers on the slate, as he recorded a 3.62 ERA and a 1.17 WHIP last season, but the league-leading Dinos offense looks like it can put up big numbers on anybody, and Na should be right in the middle of that.
Stacks
Wyverns vs. Chan Gyu Lim: Dong Min Han ($4,500 DraftKings, $13 FanDuel), Jong Wook Ko ($4,100 DraftKings, $7 FanDuel), Jin Gi Jeong ($3,900 DraftKings, $11 FanDuel)
Lim's ERA did drop by 80 points from 2018 to 2019 as league-wide offense fell off, but a drop from 5.77 to 4.97 hardly makes him a threatening arm. He struggled with free passes last season, seeing his walk rate jump to 11.7 percent, and also had a home-run problem, allowing 1.02 HR/9 while the rest of the league saw its home run rate drop to 0.71 HR/9. The Wyverns' lineup has been quite poor this season, ranking ninth in runs per game, but it finished fourth in that category last year.
The Wyverns' two most-expensive hitters, Jamie Romak and Jeong Choi, both bat right-handed and are both struggling, so we'll turn to a trio of lefties who hit in the top five spots in the order for Wednesday's stack. Han, who regularly bats in the fifth spot, has been the team's best hitter this season, with 10 RBIs and a league-leading four homers through six games. He saw his home-run total plummet from 41 in 2018 to just 12 last year, but if the offensive environment is rising again, the power he's shown early this year could well continue.
Ko is quite cheap on FanDuel but is worth consideration on both sites. He's done very little this year, going just 4-for-19 at the plate, but he's interesting nonetheless as the team's No. 2 hitter. He's been a strong contact hitter over the course of his career, hitting .309/.346/.438.
Leadoff man Jeong rounds out the stack as a mid-priced option on both sites. He's had plenty of success at the plate this season, going 6-for-12 with three walks. The center fielder doesn't have much of a track record, as he appeared in just 13 games last season and posted a .423 OPS in those contests. The Wyverns have installed him atop their order, and he's rewarded them, however, making him worth a look with a shaky righty on the mound for the Twins.
Bears vs. Jun Won Seo: Jose Fernandez ($5,200 DraftKings, $16 FanDuel), Jae Hwan Kim ($5,000 DraftKings, $14 FanDuel), Jae Il Oh ($4,200 DraftKings, $14 FanDuel)
It's rare that stacking the defending-champion Bears, whose lineup ranks second in scoring this season, won't be a good idea. It certainly looks to be a sound plan here, with the 19-year-old Seo looking like one of the most exploitable arms on the slate. Sure, didn't allow an earned run in six innings in his season debut against the Wiz, but his numbers as a rookie last year are far from intimidating. Batters hit just .297 against him as he struggled to a 13.5 percent strikeout rate and a 5.47 ERA. Given his youth, it's possible he's in line for a big improvement in his sophomore season, but one good start isn't enough to prove that's already happening.
Frequent readers of this column may recognize this Bears stack, but it's difficult not to recommend it again, as each member has the platoon advantage against an unimposing righty and all three have been on a tear to start the season, each posting an OPS north of 1.000. Fernandez has been the best of the bunch and has been perhaps the best hitter in the entire league. Last year's hits leader already has a three-hit advantage in that category this season and owns a .577/.593/.846 overall batting line through six games, grabbing at least two hits in five of those games.
Kim's numbers aren't far behind those of his Cuban teammate. His team-leading three home runs tie him for second in the league, and he owns an excellent .417/.481/.833 slash line. If the ball has indeed been somewhat rejuiced, that's great news for Kim, who averaged 38.7 homers per season from 2016 to 2018 but managed just 15 last year.
Oh is sandwiched in between that pair as the Bears' number three hitter and is comparatively cheap, at least on DraftKings. His .385/.429/.615 slash line looks comparatively pedestrian next to Fernandez and Kim but obviously holds up quite well in its own right.
