DFS KBO: Wednesday Cheat Sheet

Rain again wiped out one KBO game Tuesday, leaving us with a pair of blowouts and a pair of close contests. The Twins got a strong start from Tyler Wilson, who allowed just one earned run while striking out six in six innings, while their hot lineup continued its recent form in a 15-5 win over the Tigers. Hyun Soo Kim led the way with a pair of homers and five RBI. The Giants remained hot as well, easily handling the Wyverns by an 8-0 score behind six shutout innings from Jun Won Seo and seven combined hits from their first three hitters, Hoon Jung, Ah Seop Son and Jun Woo Jeon. Elsewhere, Mel Rojas Jr. reached base three times and scored twice and Odrisamer Despaigne allowed just two runs while striking out six over six innings as the Wiz ended the Heroes' six-game hitting streak, while Min Ho Kang walked three times and hit a three-run homer as the Lions upset the Bears 6-3. 

Rain could unfortunately be even more of a factor for Wednesday's slate, with only the Wiz-Heroes game -- which will take place in a dome -- looking safe as of writing.

Pitchers

Hyun Jong Yang's ($8,700) price tag better fits his 2.29 ERA and 1.07 WHIP from last year than his 5.88 ERA and 1.50 WHIP this season. That's quite a surprising drop-off, especially as Yang shouldn't be nearly in the twilight of his career, even if he's past his prime at age 32. Yang can blame a high .328 BABIP and a low 62.7 percent strand rate for some of his struggles, but it's not as if he's pitched all that well. Both his 18.4 percent strikeout rate and 7.5 percent walk rate are quite close to league average. His last two outings have been more encouraging, though, as he's allowed just four runs in 11 innings while striking out 13. He certainly doesn't have an easy matchup against a Twins team that has scored an amazing 11.5 runs per game over its last six games, but his excellent track record makes him still worth a look among a rather uninspiring group.

Jong Hoon Park ($8,300) owns a rather uninspiring 4.96 ERA and 1.44 WHIP overall this season, but he's generally been pitching pretty well lately. He hasn't allowed more than three runs in any of his last six starts, posting a 3.74 ERA over that stretch. He has a fair amount of strikeout upside, as his 22.8 percent strikeout rate ranks fifth among qualified starters, though his 10.7 percent walk rate is fairly poor. He'll face a heavily right-handed Giants lineup that still ranks seventh in scoring even after a recent hot streak.

Jae Hak Lee ($7,700) earned a mention here yesterday and gets a spot here again after the Dinos' first game of the week was rained out. As was the case for Tuesday's slate, Lee isn't really here on his own merits, as his poor 6.04 ERA and 1.56 WHIP look largely deserved given his uninspiring trio of a 15.1 percent strikeout rate, 9.6 percent walk rate and 1.2 HR/9. He was a reliable option last year, posting a 3.75 ERA, but he doesn't have to be much better than he's been thus far to be a playable option Wednesday given a rather weak set of alternatives. Among a generally weak group, taking the pitcher who gets to face the Eagles and their last-ranked lineup is rarely a bad idea.

Top Targets

It's difficult to recommend any Wyverns after the team scored a pathetic two runs in its last four games, but it's also difficult not to recommend at least one player against Giants lefty Won Sam Jang. The 37-year-old owns a 7.59 ERA and a 7:6 K:BB in 21.1 innings this season and hasn't recorded an ERA below 5.50 since 2014. Jeong Choi ($5,100) remains the best Wyvern to target. Like most of his teammates, he's struggled lately, grabbing just one hit in his last four games. He was quite hot quite recently, though, as that poor stretch immediately following a 12-game hitting streak in which he hit .429/.509/.929 with six homers.

Speaking of hitting streaks, Kyoung Min Hur ($5,000) extended his to 25 games with his 1-for-4 day Tuesday. He's hitting .474 with six steals over that stretch. While it's generally tough to pay this much for a player who regularly bats sixth or for a player and has hit just four homers, it's hard to ignore that streak. He's now hitting .388 on the season, just one point behind Mel Rojas Jr.'s league-leading .389 mark. He'll get the platoon advantage against Lions lefty Chae Heung Choi, whose 3.53 ERA comes with a rather mediocre combination of an 18.7 percent strikeout rate and a 9.2 percent walk rate.

Bargain Bats

34-year-old Min Ho Kang ($3,300) has quite a strong offensive resume for a catcher, hitting .274/.358/.464 with 264 homers over his 17-year KBO career. He looked to be aging quickly in the first 25 games of the season, hitting a poor .159/.216/.362. Over his last 33 games, however, he's been in better than vintage form, hitting an excellent .371/.430/.660. He's currently riding a 13-game hitting streak, a stretch in which he's hit .452 with four homers. He'll get the platoon advantage against Bears lefty Hui Kwan Yu, who owns a 5.61 ERA on the season and an 8.05 mark over his last seven starts.

Brandon Barnes ($2,800) again earns a mention here, as he remains far too cheap for a hitter deemed worthy of one of a team's three foreign player spots. His .268/.375/.439 slash line through his first 11 games in Korea is respectable enough and is already good enough to justify his low price, but there's reason to expect more from a player who has played 484 games at the major-league level. He'll get a fairly easy matchup against Jae Hak Lee, who was mentioned above due to his matchup against Barnes' Eagles but who has been quite poor overall this season.

Stacks To Consider

Wiz vs. Won Tae Choi: Mel Rojas Jr. ($6,300), Baek Ho Kang ($5,400), Yong Ho Jo ($3,100)

Choi was quite good in 2018 and 2019, posting ERAs of 3.95 and 3.38. He was similarly effective through the end of June this season, posting a 3.68 ERA and a 1.16 WHIP. Something went dramatically wrong when the calendar flipped to July, however, as he recorded an awful 11.25 ERA, a 2.19 WHIP, and a 9:9 K:BB over four starts. Unless he makes a dramatic turnaround, the Wiz should be set for a big game in this one. This is the safest available game to stack on a day that could be full of rain, as the game will take place indoors at Gocheok Sky Dome.

There's almost no such thing as a bad matchup for Rojas, who's both a switch hitter and the clear MVP favorite. He's been dominant throughout the season, hitting .389/.453/.761 with 26 homers, 67 runs and 68 RBI through his first 72 games. He's somehow been even hotter over his last nine contests, hitting .438/.550/1.094 with five homers. He's the most expensive hitter on the slate, but he's probably still underpriced.

Kang struggled for much of July, hitting .174/.235/.283 over a 12-game stretch from July 10 through July 26. His bat seems to be waking up over his last four games, though, as he's grabbed six hits. Getting the platoon advantage against a struggling righty should give him a good shot to continue to build on that momentum. Even with that poor stretch, he's hitting a strong .303/.385/.532 on the season with his 12 homers already just one shy of the total of 13 he managed last year in over twice as many games.

Leadoff man Jo has been included over number two hitter Jae Gyun Hwang for cost reasons, but if you have the budget room, consider shelling out an extra $1,800 for the third baseman instead. Like Kang, Jo struggled for much of July, but he's been quite hot in his last five games, going 8-for-19 at the plate. Jo has a prototypical leadoff skill set, as he's yet to hit a homer but is hitting .327 while walking at a 12.9 percent clip, helping him to a .415 on-base percentage. He's also chipped in with eight steals.

Heroes vs. Min Soo Kim: Jung Hoo Lee ($5,600), Addison Russell ($4,700), Keon Chang Seo ($4,600)

Sticking with the game that takes place in the KBO's lone dome, the opposite side of this contest also provides a very appealing stack opportunity. The one-dimensional Wiz have climbed into a share of the final playoff spot despite allowing the fourth-most runs per game, and Kim is responsible for a fair portion of that ranking. He hasn't been good in eight starts and nine relief appearances, struggling to a 6.16 ERA and a 1.79 WHIP. While he's done a decent job avoiding walks, issuing free passes at a 7.0 percent clip, he lets batters make far too much contact, posting a low 12.6 percent strikeout rate. A .376 BABIP undoubtedly inflates opponents' .343 batting average against him, but it's hard to see him shutting down a hot Heroes lineup in this one.

The Heroes have plenty of options worth considering against a starter as week as Kim, but it makes sense to lead things off with the left-handed Lee here. The young outfielder owns an excellent .368/.428/.615 slash line on the season and has already hit 12 homers, doubling his previous career high. He's been even hotter over his last four games, racking up three hits in all four contests, hitting .667 while driving in nine runs.

Russell has slotted in right in front of Lee out of the number three spot and has been everything the Heroes could have asked for through his first six games, hitting .357/.400/.536 with a homer, six RBI and six runs scored. His price has already nearly doubled since his arrival in Korea, but it's likely that it's still far too low. Unlike most foreign hitters, Russell held his own for an extended period stateside, hitting a respectable .242/.312/.392. While he won't get the platoon advantage against Kim, there's little reason to believe that a hitter who was competent at the MLB level will have trouble with one of the KBO's weakest starters.

Leadoff man Seo joins Lee as the other lefty who regularly hits in a key spot in the Heroes' order. The 2014 KBO MVP has fallen from where he was at his peak, but his .287/.400/.426 slash line is perfectly respectable and comes with a league-leading 16 steals. He's also walked at a 15.1 percent clip while striking out in just 10.2 percent of his plate appearances. While he's grabbed just one hit in his last six games, he's walked seven times.