DFS KBO: Wednesday Cheat Sheet

The KBO forged ahead Tuesday despite a positive COVID-19 test for an Eagles' minor leaguer, though there are fears that could change Wednesday following a positive test for a second player on the Eagles' Futures League squad. Tuesday's slate featured some impressive performances despite the gloomy circumstances, with the Twins and Wiz scoring 13 and 11 runs, respectively, over the Wyverns and Giants, with Roberto Ramos and Mel Rojas Jr. both homering. On the opposite end of the spectrum, the Eagles and Lions were both held scoreless, with Raul Alcantara striking out nine Eagles while allowing just two hits in seven scoreless innings while Aaron Brooks tossed eight scoreless frames against Lions, striking out five while allowing just three hits. Elsewhere, a quality start from Mike Wright and a two-run homer from Aaron Altherr helped the first-place Dinos past the second-place Heroes by a 5-2 score, extending their lead atop the standings to 2.5 games. Clouds hang over Wednesday's slate, however, both literally (all but the Dinos-Heroes game in Gocheok Sky Dome appear threatened by rain) and figuratively, as it's unclear as of writing whether or not the rising number of coronavirus cases in the Futures League will force the KBO to pause.

Pitchers

Drew Gagnon ($9,100) hasn't been at his best lately, though neither was his teammate Aaron Brooks, and a game against the Lions was all he needed to get back to his best form. Gagnon owned a 3.53 ERA and a 1.22 WHIP through his first 13 KBO starts, but the wheels fell off when the calendar flipped to August, as he owns a 7.56 ERA and a 2.32 WHIP over his last five starts, numbers that come with an equally discouraging 19:18 K:BB. He now owns a poor 9.7 percent walk rate, but he still has a fair amount of strikeout upside thanks to his 20.9 percent strikeout rate. Given the generally poor set of alternatives, betting on a bounceback from Gagnon against a team that's struggled offensively for quite a long time seems like a chance worth taking.

Chad Bell ($8,000) comes with plenty of risk that comes with facing the Bears' third-ranked offense, but he at least doesn't seem to come with the risk inherent in being Chad Bell that he appeared to come with early in the season. Through his first 10 outings, he owned an awful 7.94 ERA and a 1.92 WHIP, with his struggles likely linked to the elbow woes which sent him to the injured list twice. In his last three outings, he's suddenly given up just a single run on 10 hits, striking out 19 batters in 19 innings. He was a solid option last season, posting a 3.50 ERA and a 1.31 WHIP, so it's not as if this is out of nowhere. He looks like an entirely different pitcher now and should be further helped by getting the platoon advantage against the majority of the Bears' best bats.

Myung Gi Song ($7,000) has made just two starts this season, but he's looked like a reliable option, allowing just three runs on 12 hits in 10.2 innings while striking out seven and walking just two. He averages 89.5 pitches in those two starts, so he doesn't come with significant workload concerns Wednesday despite the fact that 24 of his 26 appearances this year have come out of the bullpen. He's produced solid numbers in his 37.1 total innings, posting a 3.62 ERA and a 1.23 WHIP while striking out 23.0 percent of opposing batters and walking just 7.2 percent. While it's correct to expect a moderate dropoff in those numbers when he pitches as a starter, there's still enough here to make the 2019 seventh-overall pick look like a playable budget option against the fifth-ranked Heroes lineup.

Top Targets

Preston Tucker ($5,700) has had his ups and downs this season, but he's been pretty firmly on the upswing for quite some time. Over his last 25 games, he's hitting .315/.422/.609 with eight homers. That's given him 24 homers on the season, good for fourth in the league, while he sits seventh among qualified hitters with a .971 OPS. He should have a good shot to improve that number against Lions righty Dae Woo Kim, whose solid 3.53 ERA isn't backed up by his very low 10.2 percent strikeout rate.

Baek Ho Kang ($5,200) oddly didn't hit a single homer over a 25-game stretch from mid-July to mid-August, but he's back on track now, homering four times in his last 12 games. His recent hot streak actually started just a bit before that, as he's hitting .375/.451/.650 over his last 20 contests. While his .318 batting average and .399 on-base percentage still trail his .336 and .420 marks from last season, he's improved his slugging percentage from .495 to .554 and already has 16 homers, three more than he managed last season. He could add to that total Wednesday with the platoon advantage against Giants' righty Kyung Eun Noh, who owns a 4.88 ERA on the season after allowing eight runs in his last outing.

Bargain Bats

38-year-old Dae Ho Lee ($3,500) may not be the player he was at his peak, but he's still a very qualified budget option at first base. His 14 homers on the season are good for a respectable fifth at the position, while his 69 RBI rank second. While he's gone hitless in his last two games, that follows a six-game stretch in which he hit .435 with three homers and nine RBI. He could get back on track Wednesday with Min Soo Kim and his 5.85 ERA on the mound for the Wiz.

If the Eagles had enough interesting bats, they'd be a strong stack candidate against Bears righty Seung Jin Lee, who's struggled to a 6.63 ERA and a 1.68 WHIP in 19 innings this season. While it's generally unwise to put too many Eagles in your lineup, Yong Kyu Lee ($3,200) should be worth a look given the matchup. The 35-year-old has essentially no power, as he hasn't slugged above .332 in any of the last three seasons, hitting two total homers over that stretch, but he's still a useful player. His .284 batting average and 13.6 percent walk rate give him a .388 on-base percentage, helping him steal 15 bases.

Stacks to Consider

Dinos vs. Young Gun Jo: Sung Bum Na ($6,300), Eui Ji Yang ($6,000), Myung Gi Lee ($3,800)

Jo spent some time as a "starter" earlier in the season, though he was seldom asked to go deep into the game, only once reaching four innings. Given that his last six outings have come out of the bullpen, none of which have lasted more than two innings, he's unlikely to pitch very deep in this one. While the Heroes do have some quality arms in their pen, the ones who come in as early as the third or fourth inning are unlikely to be particularly intimidating. The Dinos could well have a sizable lead at that point, as Jo hasn't been anything close to good in his 26 innings overall, posting a 6.58 ERA, a 1.85 WHIP and an awful 12:17 K:BB.

Na may have gone hitless Tuesday, but that's just the third time in the last 21 games he's done so. He's homered nine times over that stretch while posting a .382/.433/.775 slash line. He's having exactly the sort of season he needed to have if he's to make his desired jump to MLB next season and is firmly in the MVP race, as he sits third in the league in homers (27), second in RBI (84) and second in OPS (1.020).

While other catchers have had their hot streaks at times this season, Yang remains the clear top option at the position, scoring 9.0 DraftKings points per game while no other catcher has managed more than 6.8. The veteran's dominance is evident in the traditional statistics as well, as he leads all backstops in homers (15), RBI (69), batting average (.309), on-base percentage (.393), slugging (.538) and even steals (4) for good measure. He's been on fire over his last 17 games, hitting .414/.493/.690.

Lee isn't one of the Dinos' best bats, but as long as he's hitting first or second in the league's best lineup, he'll be an excellent option for his price and helps keep this stack affordable. Following a deep slump from late June through mid-July, in which he posted a .200 OPS over 16 games, he's turned things around dramatically and has been hitting quite well for an extended period. He still doesn't have much power, but it's hard to complain about his .386/.440/.480 slash line over his last 31 games.

Wyverns vs. Jae Heon Sung: Jeong Choi ($5,300), Jamie Romak ($4,300), Tae Gon Oh ($2,500)

Sung hasn't done much wrong in his two KBO appearances thus far in his career, allowing one run in 3.2 innings of relief, but it's the brevity of his resume that makes him a promising stack target here. The 22-year-old lefty didn't have much of a resume coming into the season, either, as he was taken 73rd overall in this year's draft. He's spent most of the year in the Futures League, where his 2.17 ERA in 49.2 innings isn't backed up by his 34:26 K:BB. The Wyverns' top righties shouldn't have much trouble with him here.

A lefty on the mound for the opposition means the Wyverns' two best bats will get the platoon advantage in this one. Choi is not just one of the best bats on the Wyverns but is one of the best bats all time in the KBO, as he sits second all time with 358 homers. 23 of those homers have come this season, good for fifth in the league. Four of those have come in his last 12 games, a stretch in which he's hitting .263/.451/.632.

Romak has a respectable 18 homers of his own this season, good for 11th in the league. He's capable of even more than that, however, as he averaged 34.3 homers in his first three seasons in Korea. The Canadian slugger pulled himself out of a slump in mid-August and has gone on to hit .377/.474/.689 with five homers in his last 17 games.

Oh isn't in the lineup every game, but he should occupy a key spot in the order with a lefty on the mound for the opposition. He hit just .220/.291/.280 in 40 games for the Wiz early this season but has been an entirely different player since joining the Wyverns in a mid-August trade. In 13 games for his new team, he's hitting .297/.341/.486. It is of course a small sample size, but the opportunity cost to bet on him keeping the hot streak going is quite low given his very cheap price.