DFS KBO: Wednesday Cheat Sheet

A last-minute rainout in Gwangju between the Eagles and Tigers shrunk Tuesday's slate to four games, though all four were fairly interesting. The highest-scoring game happened between the Giants and Dinos, as the Dinos scored eight runs on what turned out to be essentially a bullpen day for the Giants and got a quality start from Mike Wright, but they were undone by the Giants scoring seven runs off their bullpen to win 10-8 in 11 innings. Dae Ho Lee's 11th-inning homer, his second of the day, proved to be the deciding hit. The Twins and Wiz went to the 11th inning as well, with the Twins winning 4-3 on Chang Gi Hong's walkoff homer, the first home run of his four-year career. Elsewhere, Chae Heung Choi and the Lions' bullpen held the Wyverns to just five hits in their 4-1 win, while the Heroes continued to surge, defeating the Bears 11-2 behind another strong performance from young lefty Seung Ho Lee. Rain doesn't appear to be in the forecast ahead of Wednesday's games, so we should get a full, five-game slate with a wide range of pitching talent on display.

Pitchers

It's somewhat odd that Chang Mo Koo's ($11,000 DraftKings, $29 FanDuel as "NC Starting P") DraftKings' price jumped $1,600 after his worst start of the year, but it's also hard to say he's overpriced. Last time out against the Wiz, he allowed more than one earned run for the first time all season, giving up four in just four innings. Still, even after that poor outing, he remains the league leader in ERA (1.37), WHIP (0.76) and strikeout rate (29.7 percent). The Giants did score 10 runs Tuesday, though most of those came against the Dinos' shaky bullpen, and they remain eighth in runs per game this season. Koo is very much still worth consideration after one bad start for anyone who can squeeze in his lofty price tag.

Ki Young Im ($8,000 DraftKings, $24 FanDuel as "Kia Starting P") was my favorite pitcher on Tuesday's slate before his start got rained out, and he remains my favorite for his price Wednesday, as the gap between his numbers and Koo's isn't as big as the gap between their price tags. Im's 22.2 percent strikeout rate isn't close to Koo's elite mark in that category, but it's still well above average and comes with an excellent 4.0 percent walk rate. His 2.91 ERA this season looks very much deserved, and it's unlikely that it will rise Wednesday against an Eagles lineup which ranks last in most offensive categories.

Very few things are going right for the Wyverns this season, though Seung Won Moon ($7,700 DraftKings, $27 FanDuel as "SK Starting P") is having a breakout year in his age-30 campaign. The righty's 3.88 ERA last season was his best ERA to date, though it came with some rather unremarkable peripherals. This season, he's trimmed that number to 3.23, and it looks sustainable given his underlying numbers. His 5.5 percent walk rate is a near match for his 5.6 percent mark from each of the previous two seasons, but his strikeout rate has shot up to 24.0 percent, well above his previous full-season high of 18.6 percent. He'll have to pitch in the league's most hitter-friendly park in this one, but the sixth-ranked Lions lineup isn't particularly intimidating even at home.

Top Targets

If not for a pair of more compelling options, the Bears easily could have been a stack recommendation in this piece, as their top lefties all look interesting against Hyun Hee Han, who's been adequate but hardly intimidating this season with a 4.38 ERA and a 1.42 WHIP. Jae Hwan Kim ($5,400 DraftKings, $17 FanDuel) has been the best of the bunch in recent weeks and is the Bear to grab if you can only include one. He's been both very cold and very hot at different points this season, though he's in one of the latter stretches lately, driving in 15 runs over his last 11 games while hitting .385/.538/.667.

Mel Rojas ($6,100 DraftKings, $17 FanDuel) hasn't homered in two whole games, which practically counts as a cold stretch given how his season has gone thus far. He's homered 13 times in his last 26 contests, giving him 17 on the season, four more than anyone else in the league. He's filled up the leaderboard, ranking first in runs (41), second in RBI (45) and first in OPS (1.146). As a switch hitter, he always has the platoon advantage, and that will remain true in this one against Twins lefty Woo Chan Cha, who owns an unimpressive 4.98 ERA this season.

Bargain Bats

Ji Hwan Oh ($3,400 DraftKings, $9 FanDuel) has held down the number two spot in the Twins' order in three straight games, even after Eun Sung Chae returned from an ankle injury Tuesday. He'll be a bargain if he remains there Wednesday against Wiz righty Je Seong Bae, whose 13.3 percent strikeout rate and 9.9 percent walk rate don't back up his 3.91 ERA. Oh is by no means a star, but he isn't priced like one, and he's been seeing the ball quite well lately, hitting .327/.383/.436 over his last 14 games. He's stolen three bases over that stretch, giving him nine on the season, tied for second in the league.

Ji Hoon Choi ($2,900 DraftKings, $5 FanDuel) remains the best use of $5 on FanDuel. The 22-year-old rookie hasn't done much other than hit for contact this season, but his .318/.364/.382 slash line is perfectly respectable. Several secondary factors make him worthy of consideration Wednesday. He occupies a key lineup position, typically batting second, and he'll get the platoon advantage against Lions righty David Buchanan, who allowed eight runs on 12 hits to the lowly Eagles in his last start. Even the Wyverns' struggling lineup could be in line for a similar performance in this one, especially as the game will take place in the league's most hitter-friendly park.

Stacks To Consider

Dinos vs. Won Sam Jang: Hee Dong Kwon ($2,400 DraftKings, $7 FanDuel), Aaron Altherr ($5,000 DraftKings, $16 FanDuel), Suk Min Park ($4,300 DraftKings, $10 FanDuel)

Jang has made just a single appearance this season, getting lit up for five runs on 10 hits in just three innings against the Bears back in mid-May. The 37-year-old owns a solid 4.23 ERA and a 1.36 WHIP over the course of his 15-year career, but he's understandably far from what he was at his peak. He hasn't finished with an ERA below 5.61 since all the way back in 2014. The league-leading Dinos should have their way with the veteran lefty, and they could be set to profit against the Giants' bullpen as well should they knock him out of the game early, as that unit was forced to throw 8.2 innings in Tuesday's extra-innings contest.

Kwon has now hit second in three straight games for the Dinos, even with Myung Gi Lee returning from a knee injury Tuesday, though he remains incredibly cheap on both sites. The spot seems to suit him well, as he's homered in all three contests. He's one of many Dinos having a career year, as his .325/.430/.575 season slash line is good for a 1.005 OPS, far above his previous career high of .829. His .369 BABIP suggests his numbers will fall off by a moderate amount going forward, but he doesn't have to produce at anywhere near his current level to justify his price, especially as long as he keeps batting second for the league's best lineup.

Altherr was dropped from the heart of the order to the bottom third quite early in the season due to some early struggles, which appeared to be linked to a nagging hand injury. He's been deservedly moving up occasionally in recent weeks, however, and he could occupy a key spot in the order Wednesday after leadoff hitter Min Woo Park (hamstring) and cleanup man Eui Ji Yang (back) both left Tuesday's contest with injuries. With the way Altherr has been hitting of late, though, he's a worthy inclusion no matter where he hits in the lineup. He's homered in three straight games and has nine homers in his last 25 contests, a stretch in which he's hitting .345/.412/.747.

It says quite a lot about the strength of this Dinos lineup that Park has been one of their worst hitters, as his .821 OPS is tied for second-lowest among their typical starting nine. The 35-year-old has quite a long track record as a quality hitter, posting a lifetime .289/.406/.499 slash line with 250 career homers, good for 19th-most all time. His power has fallen off a bit this year, as his .425 slugging percentage would be his second-lowest mark since 2005, though he did just launch his sixth homer of the season Tuesday. Given the matchup against a weak lefty, he's interesting as a cheap option on FanDuel and as one of a small number of quality bats at a surprisingly thin third-base position on DraftKings, especially as he's hit fourth or fifth in three straight games.

Heroes vs. Young Ha Lee: Jung Hoo Lee ($4,500 DraftKings, $14 FanDuel), Keon Chang Seo ($4,100 DraftKings, $10 FanDuel), Hye Sung Kim ($2,700 DraftKings, $9 FanDuel)

Young Ha Lee's strong 3.64 ERA in his age-21 season last year didn't come with the most convincing peripherals, as he struck out just 13.0 percent of opposing batters, but his overall performance was solid at worst. He hasn't come close to matching that modest level this year, though, as he's struggled to a 6.29 ERA and a 1.89 WHIP. A .368 BABIP and a 61.2 percent strand rate have certainly inflated his numbers, but even stripping those away leaves him with a 14.6 percent strikeout rate and a 11.3 percent walk rate, both rather poor numbers. He's been especially bad in his last three starts, allowing 18 runs in 14.2 innings. The Heroes crossed the plate 11 times in Tuesday's series opener and should be set for another big number here.

The Heroes show up in this section so frequently partly due to the fact that they have several strong options from both sides of the plate in the top half of their lineup. Jung Hoo Lee leads this stack of lefties against a struggling right-hander. The 21-year-old is breaking out in his fourth career KBO campaign. He'd been a strong contact hitter in his first three seasons, hitting .324 or better each year, but he'd never managed more than six homers. He's already gone deep seven times this season, however, and he's done it without sacrificing any contact ability, as he's now hitting a career-high .370 while striking out in just 6.9 percent of his plate appearances.

Seo had been in a slump for much of June, but he's gone on a tear over his last seven games, hitting .385/.515/.577. He's walked seven times over that stretch without striking out even once, a demonstration of perhaps his most remarkable skill. On the season overall, he owns a 14.9 percent walk rate and an 8.5 percent strikeout rate. He doesn't hit for a ton of power, but he produces value in other ways, as his 11 steals lead the league. The leadoff man should have plenty of chances to steal and score against an unreliable righty with control problems in this one.

Kim moved up to second in the order the last two games in the absence of Ha Seong Kim (ankle), and he'll be quite a strong play Wednesday if he holds onto that spot, which is not a given with the injured Kim possibly returning. The 21-year-old Hye Sung Kim had been a below-average hitter prior to this season, but he's in the midst of a breakout year, hitting .296/.359/.474. He's not a star, but he's a solid all-around offensive player, as he's paired his high batting average with five homers and five steals. With the platoon advantage and a spot in the order between Lee and Seo, he makes for an excellent (and inexpensive) way to round out this stack.