DFS KBO: Wednesday Cheat Sheet

Tuesday's KBO slate featured a number of strong pitchers and figured to be rather low-scoring, but three of the five games wound up with double-digit totals, while a fourth finished with nine total runs scored. In the day's lowest-scoring contest, the Dinos maintained their slim lead over the Heroes with their 5-1 victory, with Drew Rucinski rebounding from a run of poor form to give up just one run in six innings while Sung Bum Na went 2-for-3 with a homer and three RBI. The Twins kept pace with the league leaders by winning their sixth straight game, defeating the Tigers 6-5 of Hyun Soo Kim's 10th-inning walkoff homer, one of the veteran's four hits on the day. Elsewhere, Dan Straily pitched his worst game of the season, allowing six runs on 10 hits in just four innings as the Bears beat the Giants 9-2. In the other two games of the day, William Cuevas and Chae Heung Choi both pitched well before the Wiz scored five runs in the final three frames of Lions' relievers to win 6-3, while Dong Min Han and Jamie Romak each homered as the Wyverns beat the Eagles 9-3. Wednesday's action should feature yet another full slate and a rather standard split of strong and weak pitchers.

Pitchers

Casey Kelly ($9,900) was quite mediocre to start the year, posting a 5.12 ERA over his first nien starts. He's settled down since the calendar flipped to July, however, posting a 2.98 ERA and a 1.21 WHIP over his last eight starts, all but one of which have been quality starts. Those numbers are reminiscent of (if not quite as good as) his 2.55 ERA and 1.14 WHIP from his debut season in Korea last year. He'll face the sixth-ranked Tigers lineup in this one, a unit he held to just one earned run in seven innings in his previous start.

Odrisamer Despaigne ($8,800) has had an up-and-down year, but there have been far more ups than downs lately. After struggling to a 7.41 ERA and a 1.74 WHIP in six June starts, he's cruised to a 3.21 ERA and a 1.38 WHIP over his last nine outings. He's had one eight-run blowup against the Dinos during that stretch, giving up a total of 12 earned runs across his other eight outings. His recent form should set him up well against the Lions' eighth-ranked lineup in this one.

On the opposite side of that same contest, Ben Lively ($7,500) looks like the best mid-price option against a Wiz lineup which ranks fourth in scoring over the course of the season but which hasn't scored more than six runs in any of its last 11 games, scoring a modest 4.5 runs per game over that stretch. The former Philadelphia Phillie and Kansas City Royal hasn't been at his best this season, posting a 4.69 ERA over nine starts while missing an extended period with a side injury. Still, when adding in his numbers from his nine-start KBO debut last year, his 22.5 percent strikeout rate and 8.1 percent walk rate makes for a strong combination, and he's coming off a start against the Bears in which he struck out seven over five innings while allowing just two runs.

Top Targets

While the Twins' supporting cast is finally stepping up (and getting healthy), keying the team's charge up the standings, Hyun Soo Kim ($5,300) has been the team's most consistent player through both their strong and poor stretches. He's always been an excellent contact hitter, hitting over .300 in nine previous KBO seasons, though he's power appeared to be falling off last season, as he managed just 11 homers. He's already hit 18 this year, however, and doesn't seem to have sacrificed anything to get there, as he's hitting .354/.413/.591 overall. He'll get the platoon advantage Wednesday against Tigers righty Min Woo Lee, who owns a 5.49 ERA this season.

Jung Hoo Lee ($5,900) has a similar profile to Kim, though he's 11 years Kim's junior. Like Kim, he was an excellent contact hitter early in his career, hitting .324 or better in each of his first three KBO seasons. He never had much power, though, hitting a total of 14 homers. He already has 13 this season, however, and, again like Kim, hasn't sacrificed anything to get to that power, setting career highs in all three elements of his .359/.420/.595 slash line. The 21-year-old breakout star will get the platoon advantage against Dinos righty Min Hyuk Shin, who's made just one career KBO start.

Bargain Bats

The recommended Giants stack fell flat Tuesday against an unimposing Bears righty, but they're interesting again with another weak righty on the mound in Young Ha Lee. Lee owns a 5.25 ERA and a 1.79 WHIP on the season, and while he's allowed just three runs over his last two starts, his 2:8 K:BB over that stretch hardly suggests he's figured things out. Ah Seop Son ($3,600) is the Giants' lone lefty who hits in the top half of the order and should be the strongest play against Lee. He has at least one hit in 16 of his last 17 games, hitting .338 over that stretch, though that's actually slightly below his season-long .343 batting average.

If the Eagles had any reliable hitters, they'd be a strong stack candidate against Wyverns righty Geon Wook Lee, whose decent 4.57 ERA this season comes with a poor 51:41 K:BB. Yong Kyu Lee ($3,200) will get the platoon advantage against him and could be an interesting cheap play. The leadoff man has essentially no power, hitting two total homers over his last three seasons, but he does everything else well. His .274 batting average comes with a strong .379 on-base percentage, and he's stolen 14 bases, good for fifth in the league.

Stacks to Consider

Bears vs. Adrian Sampson: Jose Fernandez ($5,900), Jae Hwan Kim ($5,200), Jae Il Oh ($4,300)

Things just haven't gone well for Sampson in his KBO debut, as he's struggled to a 7.20 ERA and a 1.88 WHIP over his first 11 starts. While an unsustainably high .407 BABIP is undoubtedly partially to blame for his struggles, it's not as if his numbers would look good even if that number regresses. His 5.8 percent walk rate is a strong mark, but he's striking out just 15.0 percent of opposing batters. He's been as poor as ever lately, allowing six or more runs in two of his last three starts. The Bears shouldn't have much of a problem with him here.

With a struggling righty on the mound, we might as well stack all three members of the Bears' excellent trio of lefties in this one. Number two hitter Fernandez leads the way and has been one of the league's best hitters ever since he arrived in Korea last season. He led the league in his (197) and finished second in batting average (.344) in his debut season, and he's on track to do the same this season. His 124 hits give him a one-hit lead over Jung Hoo Lee, while his .360 batting average trails only Mel Rojas Jr.'s .367 mark among qualified hitters.

Cleanup man Kim has taken advantage of his role at the heart of one of the league's best lineups to drive in 70 runs this season, good for fourth in the league. While he's been quite cold at times this season, he's been hot lately, hitting .409 with two homers and eight RBI over his last six games. Over a 45-game stretch that covers the last two months, he's hitting a strong .331/.442/.528.

Oh, who bats between Fernandez and Kim out of the number three spot, doesn't have elite power for a first baseman, hitting a modest 10 homers in 71 games, but he's a strong hitter nonetheless. He has plenty of gap power, as his 20 doubles tie him for 11th in the league. The veteran sat twice late last week and was reportedly feeling unwell, but he returned to the lineup Tuesday, grabbing a hit and driving in a run.

Wyverns vs. Joo Hong Park: Jeong Choi ($5,400), Jamie Romak ($4,700), Tae In Chae ($2,700)

It's hard to recommend stacking the Wyverns, but even harder to avoid recommending stacking against Park. The 20-year-old lefty has thrown just 7.2 KBO innings this season but hasn't looked good, allowing seven runs (six earned) on 11 hits. In 64.2 total KBO innings, split across three seasons, he owns a miserable 8.07 ERA and a 1.92 WHIP, striking out just 16.0 percent of opposing batters while walking 11.3 percent. His 4.59 ERA in 51 Futures League innings this season is considerably better but still hardly suggests that he'll suddenly be a quality KBO arm.

A lefty on the mound means the Wyverns' two best hitters will be getting the platoon advantage. Choi hit a miserable .125/.279/.214 over his first 17 games of the year, but that's a distant memory at this point. Over his last 64 games, he's hit an excellent .318/.432/.636, posting a 1.068 which would trail only Mel Rojas Jr. among qualified hitters had he been able to keep it up from the start of the season. As it stands, his .951 OPS is well more than acceptable, giving him a very good chance to finish with an OPS north of .900 for the 11th straight season.

Romak is in the midst of the worst of his four KBO seasons, but it's not as if he's struggling. His .254/.384/.468 slash line is a mark that very many hitters would be very happy to achieve. He was struggling for much of July and early August, though he appears to have righted the ship recently. Over his last five games, he's hitting .375/.565/.813 with two homers, seven runs and nine RBI.

Finding a third hitter to pair with those two is an issue, and it's been an issue for the Wyverns all year long. I've selected Chae for his respectable numbers and price, despite the fact that he'll get the platoon disadvantage. On the season as a whole, the 37-year-old is rebounding from a year in which he hit just .251/.306/.407, posting a .299/.385/.430 slash line over 42 games. In his last 17 contests, he owns a .294/.400/.451 slash line. He receives frequent off days, however, so I'd look elsewhere if you aren't able to check your lineups at the last minute.