DFS KBO: Wednesday Cheat Sheet

We just can't win with the rain these days, as what looked set to be a rare rain-free slate Tuesday wound up giving us a respectable four games, with just the Dinos-Giants contest getting rained out. In the games that did go forward, the Eagles-Heroes game proved the best, with the Eagles coming back from down four runs and eventually winning 7-5 in the 12th inning. Brandon Barnes hit his second KBO homer in that contest, while Kim Hye Sung had four hits for the Heroes. Elsewhere, Hyun Jong Yang struck out eight twins in six innings, allowing just one run, while Preston Tucker reached base four times and scored twice in the Tigers' 8-4 victory. Hui Kwan Yu managed to hold the Lions to one run in six innings despite failing to strike out a single batter in the Bears' 6-1 win, while Mel Rojas Jr. homered (what else is new?) as the Wiz defeated the Wyverns by the same score. 

Wednesday's slate again looks to be free of rain, though given how that turned out Tuesday, it's difficult to know for sure.

Pitchers

Dan Straily ($10,300) could see lower ownership than usual given the fact that he's facing the league-leading Dinos lineup and given that there are several other reliable options available, but that could create an opportunity for those who can find the budget space to include the day's most expensive arm. Straily has been consistently dominant all season, allowing more than two earned runs in just two of his 17 starts, leading to a 1.99 ERA and a 0.97 WHIP. He's been even better than those excellent marks over his last six starts, allowing a total of just five earned runs, good for a 1.10 ERA and a 0.80 WHIP. Even if you assume that he's in for a below-average start against a lineup as good as the Dinos, he should still justify his high price tag.

Among the day's mid-priced options, William Cuevas ($7,500) stands out, and not just because he gets to face a Wyverns lineup which has scored a pathetic nine runs in its last eight games. He'd be a good value at that price against most opponents, as his 3.89 ERA and 1.19 WHIP are backed by a strong combination of a 20.1 percent strikeout rate and a 7.2 percent walk rate. He's actually been significantly better than that for most of the year, posting a 2.45 ERA in eight starts since returning from a hip injury in mid-June.

There are a number of expensive options I'd be more than comfortable turning to on this slate, but I'll use this space instead to highlight Hyun Hee Han ($6,400) as the best of the budget bracket. While he's primarily interesting due to his matchup against the last-ranked Eagles (who are probably merely the second-easiest matchup at the moment given the depths of the Wyverns' recent struggles), he's at least playable against a handful of other teams. He's had a bit of an odd season, posting a mediocre but respectable 4.47 ERA through his first eight starts before getting demolished to the tune of a 41.73 ERA over his next two outings. He's seemingly figured things out lately, though, posting a 3.55 ERA, a 0.87 WHIP and a 25:4 K:BB over his last four starts.

Top Targets

It's almost silly to keep mentioning Mel Rojas Jr. ($6,800), but it's worth noting that his price still isn't remotely too high even as it continues to rise. He's dominated the competition in most relevant categories. His 29 homers lead the league by eight, while his .393 batting average leads all qualified hitters by 25 points and his 1.234 OPS leads the same group by a full 200 points. He's only getting hotter lately, posting a ridiculous 1.629 OPS with eight homers in his last 13 games. Matchups barely matter for him at this point, but he'll get a fairly easy one against Jong Hoon Park, who owns a 4.96 ERA.

Sticking with the Wiz, Rojas' teammate Baek Ho Kang ($5,700) is also worth a look with the platoon advantage against Park. The young slugger has rebounded from a late-July slump to hit a strong .367/.457/.500 over his last eight games. It's been over a month since he's homered, but that should change soon, as he'd hit 10 homers through his first 26 games. Kang hit 29 homers as an 18-year-old rookie before seeing that number drop to 13 with the dejuiced ball last year.

Bargain Bats

Min Ho Kang ($3,800) remains surprisingly affordable, and he'll continue to be easily the best value at the catcher position until that changes. The veteran owned a poor .200/.244/.412 slash line over 33 games when he landed on the injured list with a side injury in mid-June, but he's hit an excellent .385/.459/.698 in 30 games since his returning, placing him among the best hitters at any position, not just catcher. He's homered in two straight games, giving him 13 for the season, and could well make it three straight in the league's most hitter-friendly park Wednesday against Bears starter Won Joon Choi, who owns a decent but hardly dominant 4.19 ERA in a season in which he's spent most of the season in relief.

While Hyun Hee Han was mentioned as a cheap starter worth targeting above due to his matchup against the lowly Eagles, Brandon Barnes ($2,800) is at least one Eagle worth including if you don't select Han yourself. Barnes is far too cheap for a hitter deemed worthy of one of a team's three foreign player spots. While he hasn't lit the world on fire in Korea, he's certainly held his own, hitting a solid .236/.373/.436. Until proven otherwise, former major leaguers should be treated as some of the best players in the KBO, and 15 games of decent (if not dominant) numbers from Barnes certainly don't count as "proving otherwise."

Stacks to Consider

Heroes vs. Min Woo Kim: Jung Hoo Lee ($6,000), Keon Chang Seo ($4,600), Byung Ho Park ($4,400)

Kim hasn't been all that bad this season, posting a 4.32 ERA and a 1.38. He's posted a solid 3.51 ERA over his last eight starts, though his 5.0 BB/9 over that stretch is a worrying sign. Walks have been his main issue throughout the year, as a 10.8 percent walk rate has offset a strong 21.3 percent strikeout rate to leave him with a mediocre ERA. He's also allowed an elevated 1.2 HR/9. Overall, he's by no means a poor starter, but he's nevertheless one of the weaker ones among a rather strong set of pitchers, so the strong Heroes lineup looks like one of the top stack options Wednesday.

As is always the case against a shaky righty, we'll lead with the Heroes' top lefties here. Lee is in the midst of a breakout age-21 campaign, hitting .368/.431/.604 with 12 homers, already doubling his previous career high in that category. He does it all offensively, adding seven steals to his excellent power-speed combo. He's been even hotter lately, as he's riding a 13-game hitting streak in which he's hitting .451 while striking out just three times.

Seo found himself on the bench for three straight games last week due to a recent slump, but he appears to be figuring things out. He's started both of the Heroes' last two games, batting out of his typical leadoff spot while reaching base twice in both contests. The former MVP is having a solid enough season at the plate, hitting .282/.389/.415, though where he really stands out is the basepaths, as he's stolen a league-leading 16 bases.

Addison Russell and Ha Seong Kim are certainly worthy inclusions in this stack as well, but I've elected to go with Byung Ho Park here to keep this stack somewhat affordable. He's struggled at times this season, particularly in the strikeout department, with his 30.0 percent strikeout rate holding his batting average to a poor .233. Still, he hasn't lost any of his power, with his 20 homers good for third most in the league. Three of those homers have come in his last five games, and he'll have a shot to make that four in six against the homer-prone Kim.

Bears vs. Chae Heung Choi: Kun Woo Park ($5,000), Jose Fernandez ($6,100), Jae Il Oh ($3,900)

Like the stack listed above, this one is much more about the strength of the Bears' lineup than the weaknesses of Choi. While Choi probably isn't as good as his 3.42 ERA and 1.29 WHIP suggest, as it's taken a .269 BABIP to get him there, he's by no means a bad pitcher, as he's combined a slightly better than average 18.5 percent strikeout rate with a slightly worse than average 9.4 percent walk rate. Still, those are worse numbers than those produced by most of the day's starters, and the lefty also comes with a bit of an injury worry, as he left his previous start against these same Bears after just two innings due to a sore back. Throw in the fact that this game will take place at the league's most hitter-friendly park, and this looks like one of the best among a group of rather dicey stack options.

While the Bears' lineup skews left-handed, this stack is led by a strong right-handed bat. Leadoff man Park owns a solid .301/.373/.450 slash line on the season, and his spot atop one of the league's top lineups has helped him score 61 runs, the fourth-highest total in the league. He had been in a slump at the end of July, going hitless over a four-game stretch, though he's since rebounded to hit .297 over his last nine games.

Fernandez won't get the platoon advantage against Choi, though that hasn't mattered much for him this season. Just one of his 14 homers this season has come against a southpaw, though he has no issues hitting for contact against same-sided pitching, as his .361 batting average against lefties is actually slightly higher than his .353 mark against righties. He's gone hitless in his last two games, a rarity for a player with a .355 batting average, though those games followed a 24-game stretch in which he posted an OPS of exactly 1.000.

Like Fernandez, Oh really hasn't been troubled by southpaws this season. In fact, he's strangely fared far better against them than against righties, hitting .360 without the platoon advantage compared to just .238 with it. He's also hit an equal number of homers (seven) against both lefties and righties despite receiving over twice as many at-bats against right-handers. That all adds up to a reliable and affordable option at first base.