DFS KBO: Wednesday Cheat Sheet

The first slate of Week 3 was a high-scoring one, with five teams putting up at least nine runs. Fantasy players who found the right stack from the Eagles, Wiz, Twins, Tigers or Heroes were likely happy with how things turned out. The Wiz's 13-run explosion made them the new highest-scoring team, slipping past the Bears, who managed a modest four runs in a loss to the league-leading Dinos. Meanwhile, good pitching was quite hard to come by, with the Tigers' Min Woo Lee providing the day's lone quality start. Wednesday's games could be another high-scoring set, with most teams moving towards the backs of their respective rotations, though there are quite a few pitchers I'd be perfectly comfortable rostering.

Pitchers

Dan Straily ($7,000 DraftKings, $23 FanDuel as "Lotte Starting P") will be highly owned due to his inexplicably cheap price, but it's hard to argue against joining the crowd when the value is so high. The veteran righty appears to have left his struggles stateside, as he's produced excellent numbers through his first three KBO starts, recording a 2.12 ERA and 1.12 WHIP while striking out a very un-Straily-like 28.4 percent of batters. He'll face a Tigers lineup that isn't particularly imposing outside of Preston Tucker, ranking seventh in runs per game this season.

On the opposite side of that same contest, Drew Gagnon ($6,700 DraftKings, $23 FanDuel as "Kia Starting P") looks like a steal on DraftKings, where he's the cheapest option on the slate, and he's not expensive on FanDuel, either. His 6.10 ERA through two starts is undeniably poor, but his underlying numbers are very strong, as he's struck out 30.4 percent of batters while walking just 6.5 percent. Once his .393 BABIP and 51.5 percent strand rate normalize, expect his ERA to dramatically improve. The Giants' lineup has been fine but hardly unbeatable, as they rank fifth in scoring this year.

Don't be scared by Tyler Wilson's ($7,500 DraftKings, $26 FanDuel as "LG Starting P") poor stat line either, which includes a 7.84 ERA, 1.65 WHIP and 12.8 percent walk rate. That's almost all a product of an awful season debut against the Dinos, an outing that can be explained away by the mandatory two-week quarantine which threw off Wilson's preseason rhythm. He looked completely fine in his next start against the Wyverns and should be better than fine going forward, as he recorded ERAs of 3.07 and 2.92 in his first two years in the league. He'll be pitching in a hitters' paradise at Daegu Samsung Lions Park, but that's at least somewhat canceled out by the fact that the Lions' lineup isn't particularly threatening.

Bonus recommendation: I can't get behind Chang Mo Koo's ($10,000 DraftKings, $28 FanDuel) lofty price as an accurate reflection of his expected point total, as he's facing a stacked Bears lineup. That said, if his price and opponent suppress his ownership like they should, he's a justifiable contrarian option for large tournaments as long as you can find enough cheap options to fit in around him. He does at least offer the potential for a high reward to go with his high risk, as he struck out 25.4 percent of batters last year and owns a 36.7 percent strikeout rate to go along with his 0.00 ERA through two starts this season. He's also left-handed, which gives him a boost against a very lefty-heavy Bears' lineup.

Top Targets

The Wiz easily could have been one of today's stack recommendations, but Baek Ho Kang ($5,800 DraftKings, $14 FanDuel) is nearly always worth a spot, either alone or part of a stack. The 20-year-old looks to be taking the next step at the start of his third KBO campaign, hitting an excellent .367/.436/.837. His five homers tie him for the league lead, while his 14 RBI tie him for second. He'll get the platoon advantage against Eagles righty Min Jae Jang, who's looked good through two starts but who struggled to a 5.43 ERA last year.

Preston Tucker ($6,100 DraftKings, $16 FanDuel) is deservedly pricey, and he's facing a tough matchup in the Giants' Dan Straily (discussed above). He's been so good this season that he looks to be virtually matchup-proof, however. He's exploded out of the gate with a .449/.518/.878 slash line. His five homers tie him for the league lead, while his 20 RBI are six more than the next-best total.

Bargain Bats

Keon Chang Seo ($3,000 DraftKings, $11 FanDuel) leads off for a Heroes offense that ranks a mediocre sixth in scoring this season, but more can be expected of the unit going forward as they led the league in runs by a considerable margin last season. Seo is doing his part, hitting .286/.352/.469 with a pair of homers and a pair of steals. He'll get the platoon advantage against Wyverns' righty Jong Hoon Park, whose 15.6 percent strikeout rate and 9.2 percent walk rate last season don't adequately support his 3.88 ERA.

Jin Seong Kang ($2,500 DraftKings, $10 FanDuel) is still listed as a catcher on DraftKings despite being decidedly not a catcher. (He's played just one inning there in his entire KBO career.) His cheap price makes him one of the best uses of that slot, but he's worth consideration as an outfielder on FanDuel as well. After playing a minimal role at the start of the season, he's started five straight games. His three home runs on the season have doubled his career total, as he'd only played 119 games across four seasons prior to this year.

Stacks to Consider

Wyverns vs. Seung Ho Lee: Jamie Romak ($6,000 DraftKings, $12 FanDuel), Jeong Choi ($5,300 DraftKings, $14 FanDuel), Kang Min Kim ($3,100 DraftKings, $8 FanDuel)

The Wyverns' lineup has really struggled this season, ranking last in the league by some margin with just 3.3 runs per game; the same unit finished fourth in scoring last year. Some regression likely should have been expected given the unit's age, as the seven hitters who received the most plate appearances for the team last season are all at least 30 years old, but it's hard to believe their current ranking accurately reflects their talent. Facing Lee could help the unit finally get going. He recorded an unimpressive 15.4 percent strikeout rate and 9.6 percent walk rate last season en route to an unremarkable 4.48 ERA. Through two starts this season, he owns a poor 5:4 K:BB to go along with his 5.59 ERA.

Romak is far more reasonably-priced on FanDuel, but he's worth consideration on both sites. The Canadian slugger hasn't fully gotten going this year, hitting only one homer while driving in just four runs, but it's not as if his overall .267/.327/.422 slash line is embarrassing. The power should come around soon with homers rising across the league, as he's averaged 36 home runs and 101 RBI over the last two campaigns. He'll get the platoon advantage with the left-handed Lee on the mound.

It's not easy to stomach adding a player who combines Choi's high price with his .158/.333/.289 slash line, but it might be worth repeating "small sample size" to yourself until it begins to look like a good idea. Choi's first 12 games this season shouldn't make us ignore what he's done over the last decade, as his last season with an OPS below .907 came all the way back in 2009. The 33-year-old, who ranks fifth all-time on the KBO's home-run leader board with 336, hasn't seen his power drop off in recent years, as he's averaged 37.5 homers per season over the last four campaigns. 

Kim has led off in two of the Wyverns' last three games and has filled that role all three times the Wyverns have faced a lefty this season. He's the rare Wyvern who's actually improved his numbers from last season in the early going, hitting a solid .292/.320/.417. He's by no means a dominant bat, but it's hard to turn down a cheap leadoff man if you're looking to stack against Lee.

Twins vs. Chae Heung Choi: Roberto Ramos ($3,100 DraftKings, $16 FanDuel), Eun Sung Chae ($2,600 DraftKings, $12 FanDuel), Min Sung Kim ($3,800 DraftKings, $10 FanDuel)

Choi's 3.27 ERA and 1.27 WHIP through his first two starts this season are both solid numbers, but his numbers over a full season in 2019 are less than inspiring. In 15 starts and 13 relief appearances, he recorded a 4.81 ERA and 1.53 WHIP. His underlying numbers weren't terrible, but he's hurt by the Lions' hitter-friendly home park, where he'll be pitching Wednesday.

I don't love the idea of selecting Ramos against a lefty, but I do love the idea of grabbing him at his incredibly cheap price on DraftKings in a stadium where balls fly out of the park on a regular basis. The Twins have the potential to score early and often Wednesday, which could render the platoon disadvantage irrelevant after just a few innings. Ramos has been everything the Twins could have asked for this season, hitting a remarkable .400/.500/.875 with five homers, 10 RBI and 10 runs through 12 games.

Unlike Ramos, No. 3 hitter Eun Sung Chae will get the platoon advantage with a southpaw on the mound. The outfielder has had a solid start to the season, hitting .289/.360/.400 with 12 runs and 12 RBI. He's not a star, but he's quite a bargain at his DraftKings price and is very reasonably priced on FanDuel as well.

Third baseman Kim won't break the bank on either platform and should provide a solid offensive option for the Twins out of the No. 5 spot. He missed time late last week with a thigh issue but was restored to his usual spot Tuesday and looked fine, reaching base twice and driving in a pair of runs. He's yet to homer this season and isn't much of a power hitter, but he's managed five doubles as part of a strong overall .323/.432/.484 slash line.