This article is part of our DraftKings KBO series.
Aaron Brooks had the best pitching performance of the day Tuesday, striking out six while walking three and allowing just a single hit in seven scoreless innings, but a bullpen blow-up led to a 4-3 victory for the Giants on the back of Joon Tae Kim's walkoff single. Elsewhere, the Lions rode six strong innings from Chae Heung Choi to an 11-4 win over the Eagles, though the majority of the production for the Lions came from the back half of the order, making the most obvious stacks largely ineffective. Byung Ho Park hit a pair of homers as part of a four-hit day in the Heroes' 8-3 win over the Twins, while Chris Flexen struck out eight Wyverns in a quality start as the Bears breezed past the Wyverns, 9-2. Meanwhile, Eui Ji Yang homered, scored twice and drove in a pair of runs in his return from a brief stint on the injured list due to vertigo, helping the Dinos maintain their 3.5-game lead with a 4-3 win over the Wiz.
We could be in for another set of interesting games Wednesday, though we might be in for no games at all, as all five contests appear to be threatened by rain as of writing. The two games taking place in the southern part of the country (Eagles-Lions in Daegu and Tigers-Giants in Busan) appear to be slightly less threatened than the other three matchups, which are all taking places up north in and around Seoul, but
Aaron Brooks had the best pitching performance of the day Tuesday, striking out six while walking three and allowing just a single hit in seven scoreless innings, but a bullpen blow-up led to a 4-3 victory for the Giants on the back of Joon Tae Kim's walkoff single. Elsewhere, the Lions rode six strong innings from Chae Heung Choi to an 11-4 win over the Eagles, though the majority of the production for the Lions came from the back half of the order, making the most obvious stacks largely ineffective. Byung Ho Park hit a pair of homers as part of a four-hit day in the Heroes' 8-3 win over the Twins, while Chris Flexen struck out eight Wyverns in a quality start as the Bears breezed past the Wyverns, 9-2. Meanwhile, Eui Ji Yang homered, scored twice and drove in a pair of runs in his return from a brief stint on the injured list due to vertigo, helping the Dinos maintain their 3.5-game lead with a 4-3 win over the Wiz.
We could be in for another set of interesting games Wednesday, though we might be in for no games at all, as all five contests appear to be threatened by rain as of writing. The two games taking place in the southern part of the country (Eagles-Lions in Daegu and Tigers-Giants in Busan) appear to be slightly less threatened than the other three matchups, which are all taking places up north in and around Seoul, but it's difficult to be confident in any of them, so you'll want to check the weather as late as possible.
Pitchers
Dan Straily ($9,200 DraftKings, $28 FanDuel as "Lotte Starting P") is no longer the confusingly cheap option he had been for a long time on DraftKings, as his price has risen $1,600 since his last start, but it's still hard to argue that he's overpriced. While poor run support has limited him to just one win this season, the rest of his numbers are impeccable, as he's cruised to a 2.10 ERA and a 1.01 WHIP through nine starts on the back of a 28.4 percent strikeout rate and a 7.8 percent walk rate. He'll face an unimpressive Tigers offense which ranks seventh in scoring this season.
Tyler Wilson ($8,500 DraftKings, $24 FanDuel as "LG Starting P") hasn't lived up to expectations this year, though his 4.18 ERA and 1.25 WHIP are perfectly respectable numbers. His 17.7 percent strikeout rate isn't anything special, though it's a near match for his 18.0 percent mark from last year, when he cruised to a 2.92 ERA. His walk rate has jumped by nearly two ticks but still stands at a solid 7.6 percent. While he hasn't been much better than above-average this season, his past success in the KBO is enough to make him worth a look even against a strong Heroes side which sits fourth in scoring, especially on FanDuel, where he's quite inexpensive.
For a cheaper option on DraftKings, consider Jong Hoon Park ($7,700 DraftKings, $25 FanDuel as "SK Starting P"). He's quite a risk, as he'll be facing the second-ranked Bears lineup, though he had his best start of the year against them back in late May, striking out eight while allowing just one earned run on two hits in seven innings. His 4.40 ERA and 1.31 WHIP on the season are both rather unremarkable, but his 25.3 percent strikeout rate gives him plenty of upside. In a day where most of the cheaper arms are very unreliable, he looks to be the best budget choice, even as a mid-price option.
Top Targets
Mel Rojas Jr. ($5,200 DraftKings, $17 FanDuel) has been white hot over his last 11 games, hitting .413 with five homers, 11 runs and 11 RBIs. To what extent that even counts as a hot streak for him is up for some debate, though, as his 1.275 OPS over that stretch isn't all that much higher than his season-long 1.142 mark. Regardless of the terminology, Rojas now has quite a strong case for early-season MVP, as he leads the league in homers (40), is tied for the lead RBI (40) and sits tied for second in runs (36). He's virtually matchup-proof, though his matchup against Mike Wright is less difficult than it might initially seem, as Wright's 19.6 percent strikeout rate and 10.1 percent walk rate don't fully support his 3.80 ERA.
Jeong Choi ($5,100 DraftKings, $15 FanDuel) continues to roll following a terrible start to the year. He hit a miserable .125/.279/.214 in his first 17 games but owns a .350/.480/.650 slash line in the 24 games since then, remaining hot even as most of his Wyverns' teammates have reverted to their previous poor form. An excellent eye has been critical for him throughout that stretch, as he owns a 16.0 percent walk rate to go with an 11.0 percent strikeout rate. He could be in for a big day with the platoon advantage against Bears lefty Hui Kwan Yu, who's somehow managed a 3.68 ERA despite a 15:16 K:BB.
Bargain Bats
Kang Nam Yoo ($4,000 DraftKings, $10 FanDuel) is more of a mid-priced option than a true bargain, at least on DraftKings, the site where you're more likely to own him given his catcher eligibility, but he's a name worth knowing nonetheless. He owned a very poor .152/.245/.261 slash line through his first 16 games but has come on quite strong over his last 24 contests, hitting .408/.446/.579, excellent numbers at any position. He'll get the platoon advantage against 21-year-old Heroes lefty Seung Ho Lee, who owns a 5.05 ERA even after a pair of strong starts.
I can rarely recommend any Eagles in good conscience, but if there's ever a time to do so, it's in the league's most hitter-friendly park against Lions rookie Yoon Dong Heo, who owns a 4:8 K:BB through his first three KBO starts. Tae Kyun Kim ($3,800 DraftKings, $7 FanDuel) looks like the best bet to produce a big game for a cheap price. The 38-year-old's .236/.333/.371 season slash line is far from impressive, but he's one of the best Korean hitters of all time, hitting .322 over the course of his 18-year career. His home run Tuesday, just his second of the year, tied him for 10th all time with 311. While he started the year quite poorly, he's picked things up over his last 13 games, hitting .304/.396/.478.
Stacks To Consider
Dinos vs. Min Soo Kim: Sung Bum Na ($6,300 DraftKings, $17 FanDuel), Eui Ji Yang ($6,100 DraftKings, $14 FanDuel), Myung Gi Lee ($3,600 DraftKings, $9 FanDuel)
Kim may not be as bad as his 7.97 ERA and 2.02 WHIP through 20.1 innings as a swingman suggest, but that's not to say he's been anywhere close to good. His numbers are undoubtedly inflated by a .452 BABIP, but outside of a 5.1 percent walk rate, there aren't really any positives in his statline. He's struck out a below-average 16.3 percent of batters while allowing 1.3 HR/9. Even if he brought his ERA and WHIP in line with his 4.96 and 1.43 marks from last season, he'd hardly be an intimidating arm and would certainly not scare anyone away from stacking the league's highest-scoring lineup.
With a shaky righty on the mound for the Wiz, any Dinos stack should be led by Na, even if he's not currently justifying his status as the most expensive (or tied for most-expensive) hitter on both sites. After seemingly pulling out of a brief slump with a strong weekend series against the Eagles, he went 0-for-4 Tuesday, giving him a .239/.286/.435 line over his last 11 games. Still, a game against Kim is as good a time as any for him to get back into form, and he's been among the best hitters in the league this season when he's on, sitting third in homers (12), third in runs (36) and tied for fifth in RBI (35).
Yang returned to action Tuesday following a three-game absence due to a mild case of vertigo and looked as good as ever, going 2-for-3 with a homer and a double. He's now reclaimed the top spot in OPS among catchers with a .970 mark, putting him back in front of the Heroes' Dong Won Park and his .941 OPS. Paired with Na, Yang makes for a very expensive duo on DraftKings, but he's nevertheless worth consideration due to his catcher eligibility. With four homers and 15 RBI in his last 11 games, he's now up to seven homers and 32 RBIs on the year.
Lee doesn't have nearly the same upside as many of his teammates, but he remains an excellent way to keep a Dinos stack relatively affordable. While his price, matchup and lineup position (second) are enough to make him interesting on their own, he's also a fine hitter in his own right. Even as many of his teammates have gone cold lately, Lee is in the middle of his best stretch of the year, hitting .467 over his last 17 games while striking out just three times.
Lions vs. Shi Hwan Jang: Ja Wook Koo ($4,800 DraftKings, $9 FanDuel), Hak Ju Lee ($4,200 DraftKings, $7 FanDuel), Tyler Saladino ($4,600 DraftKings, $9 FanDuel)
The Lions put up 11 runs in the first game of their three-game set against the Eagles, and we'll go right back to them for the second contest with another shaky starter on the mound in the league's most hitter-friendly park. Jang's 6.89 ERA and 2.11 WHIP through seven starts this year tell the story well enough on their own, but a closer examination doesn't paint him in a particularly good light, either. He could point to a .423 BABIP as the cause of many of his struggles, and his 22.3 percent strikeout rate is quite good, but he's walked 13.9 percent of opposing batters and allowed 1.4 HR/9. A steady diet of walks and homers is unlikely to serve him well in Daegu Samsung Lions Park.
With a righty on the mound for the opposition, the left-handed Koo leads this stack. A thigh injury has limited him to 24 games this season, but he's been the Lions' best hitter on a per-game basis, leading the team with a .937 OPS on the back of a .315/.386/.551 slash line. He's been a productive all-around hitter throughout his six-year career, hitting .319 with an average of 16.2 homers and 11.6 steals, and he's in line for a similar season in 2020, as he has four homers and four steals so far in limited action.
Lee is listed here primarily due to secondary factors, as he'll get the platoon advantage against a struggling righty while occupying a key lineup position (potentially as high as cleanup) in the league's most hitter-friendly park. His .268/.346/.446 slash line and four homers certainly won't turn many heads, but those are perfectly acceptable numbers for someone as cheap as he is on FanDuel or who is eligible at shortstop on DraftKings. He's also been seeing the ball quite well lately, hitting .464 with four multi-hit games in his last eight contests.
Saladino left Tuesday's game with back discomfort, so it's not clear if he'll suit up Wednesday. If you're unable to check the lineups after they're released in the middle of the night, I'd stay away from him in favor of Sang Su Kim or Won Seok Lee to complete this stack. If Saladino is able to go, though, he'll be a great value considering his talent, park and opponent, even though he won't get the platoon advantage. While he went hitless with a pair of strikeouts before exiting Tuesday's contest, he still owns an excellent .362/.490/.637 slash line over his last 26 games.
