DFS KBO: Wednesday Cheat Sheet

Tuesday's KBO slate was quite a strange one. In a day that looked light on reliable pitching, the clear top option, Odrisamer Despaigne, was lit up by the Bears for 10 runs on 15 hits, while Jae Hak Lee, who looked like the second-safest play, gave up seven runs on nine hits to the Wyverns. That's not to say good pitching was impossible to find, as Seung Won Moon struck out eight Dinos while allowing one run in six innings and Tae in Won tossed seven scoreless innings against the Twins. On the offensive side, the Heroes provided the most fertile ground for stacks, lighting up the Eagles for 15 runs, while the Bears, Wiz and Wyverns all scored at least eight runs. Wednesday's slate has a few more trustworthy pitchers at the top, though there are quite a few back-end starters throwing as well, making for multiple potential stack options.

Note: as of writing, FanDuel is down for maintenance. That means the prices listed today are for DraftKings only (though FanDuel prices may be added in later if and when the site becomes available). It also means that today's recommendations will skew towards players who are good values on DraftKings.

Pitchers

Casey Kelly's ($8,800) is expensive despite his mediocre 4.05 ERA and 1.40 WHIP, but his price appears fair when considering his track record. The American has allowed 10 runs (nine earned) in two starts against the league's top two offensives (the Dinos and Wiz) but threw six shutout innings in both of his other starts. After posting a 2.55 ERA and 1.14 WHIP in his first season in the KBO last year, he deserves a bit of slack, and he could be settling into a rhythm after striking out 10 Eagles his last time out. He'll face a Lions lineup that ranks sixth despite the fact that they play in the league's most hitter-friendly home park. If they played half their games at Jamsil Baseball Stadium, the league's most pitcher-friendly park and the park where this series is being played, they'd likely rank much lower.

Hyun Jong Yang ($9,900) hasn't quite lived up to his reputation this year, but there's still plenty of reason to keep faith in a pitcher who finished third in MVP voting last season after cruising to a 2.29 ERA and 1.07 WHIP. After struggling against the Wiz his last time out, Yang now has a 4.85 ERA and 1.42 WHIP through his first five starts this season, and he's seen his strikeout rate drop from 22.3 percent last season to 16.1 percent this year. While it would be preferable if we could get him at something of a discount given his recent struggles, I'm still interested at his full price given his history, especially because he's facing the ninth-ranked Giants lineup in this one.

Rather than simply recommending the three most expensive pitchers on the slate (Warwick Saupold is a defensible but low-upside play at $9,500 given his very low 12.4 percent strikeout rate), I'll toss out a recommendation for Young Gun Jo ($4,900). That's not a recommendation based on his track record, as he doesn't have one, making just two appearances in his KBO career. The 21-year-old has looked good in the Futures League, though, recording a 1.42 ERA and 23:4 K:BB in 19 innings. He couldn't have asked for an easier test for his first KBO League start of the season, as he'll face the Eagles, who rank last in runs per game by a considerable margin.

Top Targets

I don't quite like enough Wyverns at their prices to recommend a full stack, but I'm very interested in Jeong Choi ($4,500) in this one. After hitting an awful .125/.279/.214 through the first three weeks of the season, he's turned things around over his last seven games, hitting .429/.625/.762 while helping the Wyverns to a five-game winning streak. That kind of hot streak is what we should expect from the veteran going forward, as he hasn't finished with an OPS below .900 since all the way back in 2009. He'll get the platoon advantage against Dinos lefty Sung Young Choi, who's made just a single relief appearance this season and whose 3.94 ERA as a swingman last year wasn't well-supported by his 1.55 WHIP or 13.3 percent walk rate.

On the opposite side of that same game, the Dinos' lefties look like a potential stack against Wyverns righty Geon Wook Lee, who's looked fine in three outings this season but who doesn't seem particularly imposing as a 25-year-old with just 10.2 career innings under his belt. If you're grabbing just one Dino, Sung Bum Na ($5,300) is the one to target. He's tied for second in the league with seven homers, part of an overall excellent start that has seen him hit .309/.404/.574. He's finally priced like the elite hitter he is, but that shouldn't scare you away from using him.

Bargain Bats

Joo Hwan Choi ($2,300) missed out on the recommended Bears stack below, as Jose Fernandez and Jae Il Oh block off his two eligible positions on DraftKings (first base and second base), but he's worthy of consideration as a budget option. His .262/.330/.512 slash line is excellent for his price, and he's been hot over his last three games, going 5-for-11. He'll get the platoon advantage against 18-year-old righty Hyeong Jun So, who's shown very little in his rookie season.

Jeong Dae Bae ($2,400) earns a mention in this spot for the second straight day, as his price doesn't come close to reflecting his role or performance. He's settled in as the No. 2 hitter on the league's highest-scoring offense, a deserved role given his outstanding .379/.419/.575 slash line. He doesn't have much of a track record, and it's taken a .457 BABIP to get him to that line, but that all looks to be priced in, and even a hitter with a much worse line would be worthy of a look given Bae's price and role. His Wiz will face Yong Chan Lee on Wednesday, a veteran who's probably better than his 8.72 ERA indicates, but it's not as if his 4.07 ERA from last season should scare you off the Wiz in this one.

Stacks to Consider

Bears vs. Hyeong Jun So: Jose Fernandez ($6,200), Jae Il Oh ($3,600), Soo Bin Jung ($2,300)

The Bears' bats went confusingly quiet last weak, but they roared back to life Tuesday, scoring 10 runs off Odrisamer Despaigne, who had been one of the best pitchers in the league heading into the game. They'll face a much easier test against So on Wednesday. So deserves credit for making the Wiz's rotation at just 18 years old, but he doesn't deserve much credit for what he's done with that role, as he's struggled to a 7.06 ERA and 1.66 WHIP through his first four starts. He's avoided walks well, handing free passes to just 4.0 percent of batters, but his 8.0 percent strikeout rate has helped batters hit .333 against him.

Fernandez leads this stack, as he always does for the Bears. He hasn't slowed down after his absurd start and now has a .465/.509/.707 slash line. He hit his fifth homer of the season Tuesday and is already a third of the way to his total of 15 from last year. Fernandez appears in this column frequently enough that I'm running out of ways to describe how dominant he's been, but consider this: Fernandez had multiple hits in two-thirds of his 24 games this season, and he's been as likely to record four hits as he is to go hitless, doing both three times.

Oh missed a bit of time in late May with a side injury, but he's looked fine since returning to the lineup Saturday, going 6-for-15 at the plate. His season slash line now sits at an excellent .377/.427/.623. He's surprisingly cheap for a player who bats third in one of the league's best lineups, especially considering he has a long track record as a very strong hitter, posting a .280/.367/.499 slash line over the course of his 13-year career.

Cleanup hitter Jae Hwan Kim ($5,500) is the typical third member of this stack, but he's very expensive and may not fit in on a slate where the only truly trustworthy pitchers are quite pricey. Leadoff man Jung offers a much cheaper alternative, giving you the Bears' top three hitters, all of whom will get the platoon advantage against one of the slate's weakest starters. You're mostly paying for all those supporting factors for Jung, as his bat isn't anything special. His .264 batting average this season is a near match of his .265 mark from last season, and he hasn't walked much or hit for power. He can at least hold his own, and you won't find a better lineup situation for such a cheap price.

Twins vs. Yoon Dong Heo: Roberto Ramos ($4,200), Hyun Soo Kim ($5,600), Eun Sung Chae ($3,400)

Heo may have held the Giants scoreless through five innings in his KBO debut last week, but the 18-year-old didn't do much to indicate anyone should be scared of him going forward. He pitched out of jams all day, allowing nine baserunners over those five innings, walking four while striking out just one. Walks were a problem for him in his three starts in the Futures League earlier this year, where he somehow managed a 0.75 ERA despite a 17.6 percent walk rate. The young lefty's sample size is far too small to conclude anything other than that he's gotten quite lucky this year.

It's normally unwise to begin a stack against a southpaw with a left-handed hitter, but the typical rules don't necessarily apply to Ramos. When you can get the early MVP favorite for a very reasonable price against a shaky 18-year-old, it's worth ignoring the platoon disadvantage. Ramos left Sunday's game against the Tigers following a collision on the basepaths, but he was back in the lineup Tuesday. His 10 homers lead the league by three, and he's yet to go more than four consecutive games without homering this season.

Kim also won't get the platoon advantage, but, like Ramos, he's been so dominant that I'm not too worried about that here, given Heo's unimpressive resume. The veteran has been on a tear to start the season, hitting .385/.438/.562 through 24 games. He's only homered once, but he's managed 12 doubles, two more than anyone else in the league. He seems to be hitting everything and shouldn't be too challenged by the young lefty, even with the platoon disadvantage.

If you avoid lefty-on-lefty matchups at all costs, right-handed No. 3 hitter Chae is the Twin to target. The bespectacled outfielder is off to a strong start, hitting .316/.356/.505 with four homers. His contact ability isn't in doubt, as he's hit .313 or better in three of the last four seasons. The early power is a pleasant surprise, as he's only once hit more than 12 homers in a season, but he did manage 25 bombs in 2018, so it's possible he'll have a shot at another 20-homer season this year.