DFS KBO: Wednesday Cheat Sheet

Tuesday's KBO slate was a wild one. If you stacked the Dinos, Wyverns or Heroes, you were likely happy with the results, as all three teams scored at least 14 runs. The Dinos got a combined 12 hits, 10 runs and 10 RBI from their top five hitters in their 14-2 win over the Giants, while Ha Seong Kim, Woong Bin Kim and Jamie Romak all homered twice in the Heroes' wild 16-15 victory over the Wyverns. The Bears' lineup was also stackable in their 8-0 win over the Wiz, while Raul Alcantara threw six scoreless innings to earn the win. The final two games were close affairs, with Preston Tucker's two-RBI double helping the Tigers past the Twins by a 3-2 score and Si Hwan Noh's two-RBI 10th-inning single helping the Eagles to a 4-2 win over the Lions. Six games are on the KBO schedule Wednesday, though just four will be on the slate on DraftKings, with neither half of the Eagles-Lions doubleheader included. 

Pitchers

None of the five former MLB pitchers starting on this slate come without questions, though Mike Wright ($7,800) could be both the safest and the cheapest. He faces the easiest task of the five against the seventh-ranked Giants offense, and he's also been one of the more reliable options of late. That's not to say he's been dominant, but his 4.11 ERA and 1.26 WHP over his last six starts are both acceptable numbers, as is his 33:10 K:BB over that stretch. On the season as a whole, his 4.07 ERA isn't ace material, and neither is his combination of a 19.5 percent strikeout rate and a 9.6 percent walk rate, but it should be enough to get things done against the Giants.

Tyler Wilson ($9,500) has allowed four or more runs in three of his last four contests, posting a 5.11 ERA over that stretch, though it really hasn't been all that bad of a run for him, as he owns a 1.22 WHIP and a 22:4 K:BB in those games. That followed a stretch of seven straight games in which he allowed no more than three earned runs in a start, posting an overall 3.07 ERA, though his 1.49 WHIP in that period was noticeably worse than his recent performance. On the season as a whole, Wilson owns an unremarkable but perfectly acceptable 4.12 ERA and an 18.3 percent strikeout rate, which should be enough to get the job done against the sixth-ranked Tigers lineup.

Drew Gagnon ($8,800) has been excellent at times this season, though he hasn't been at that level for quite some time. In his first four starts of August, he struggled to a 9.00 ERA, a 2.58 WHIP and a 15:14 K:BB. He's been better over his last two outings, allowing just four runs on eight hits over 13 innings, though his 8:6 K:BB remains less than convincing. He won't have the easiest of tasks against the third-ranked Twins' offense, but his early-season dominance and his recent uptick in form is nevertheless enough to make him worth on this short, four-game slate.

Top Targets

Mel Rojas Jr. ($6,000) was the obvious MVP candidate through his first 75 games, as he owned an incredible .393/.455/.783 slash line with 29 homers. He suddenly hit a wall in mid-August, however, hitting .132/.150/.276 with just three homers in his next 17 contests. As soon as the calendar hit September, however, he was right back to his previous form, and he now owns a .481/.563/1.000 slash line with four homers in seven games this month. He should stay hot Wednesday against the Bears, as their starter Chris Flexen may not go very deep in his first start back from a broken foot and may be forced to turn things over early to one of the league's worst bullpens.

It's difficult to overstate how much Eui Ji Yang ($6,300) has dominated the catcher position this season. There's seemingly not a relevant stat in which he leads the position, as he does so in homers (17), runs (54), RBI (76) and all three elements of his .323/.402/.559 slash line. He even leads in steals with five, one fewer than the rest of the league's catchers combined. He's been on a tear over his last 22 games, hitting .438/.500/.725 with 20 runs scored and 23 more driven in.

Bargain Bats

Drew Gagnon was mentioned above as a pitcher to potentially target, he's been shaky lately, so you shouldn't rule out the Twins' hitters if you don't include him yourself. If you're nervous enough about Gagnon to not pay up for the Twins' most expensive bats, Hyung Jong Lee ($3,500) offers plenty of value at a cheaper price point. After missing most of the season with a broken hand, the outfielder has returned to hit a very strong .316/.404/.574 over 43 games. That power is a bit of a surprise, as he's never slugged higher than .467 in the past, but he's been a strong contact hitter across his five-year career, hitting .292, and adding a bit of pop to that baseline certainly wouldn't be unheard of.

In a similar vein, Tyler Wilson was also mentioned above but hasn't been perfectly reliable lately, so you shouldn't rule out the Tigers entirely, either. Ji Wan Na ($3,300) fills a similar role as a productive hitter for an affordable price. His position in the lineup, typically batting fourth behind Preston Tucker and Hyung Woo Choi, has helped him drive in 74 runs, good for 11th in the league. His overall .295/.384/.456 slash line is quite solid, though he's been even better throughout his current nine-game hitting streak, hitting .361/.439/.583.

Stacks to Consider

Heroes vs. Seung Geon Baek: Ha Seong Kim ($6,200), Addison Russell ($5,500), Dong Won Park ($5,700)

Baek is just 19 years old and could one day be an effective arm for the Wyverns, but there's been little indication that day will come any time soon. His 7.57 ERA and 2.12 WHIP through 27.1 innings tell the story well enough on their own, but his 17.3 percent walk rate is particularly worrisome. He's also allowing 2.3 HR/9. Expect the young lefty to allow plenty of baserunners in this one.

Baek may well not be in this game very long, rendering the initial platoon advantage irrelevant, but the Heroes have enough strong righties that we may as well go with them here. Kim is one of the best hitters in the league of any handedness at any position, making him typically a great value at shortstop. His two homers Tuesday gave him 24 for the season, tying him for fourth in the league. Five of those homers have come in his last 12 games, a stretch in which he's hitting .435/.527/.826 while driving in 15 runs and stealing five bases.

Russell hasn't necessarily provided the instant impact that the Heroes may have hoped they were going to get in a mid-season foreign hitter addition, though his .279/.333/.372 slash line is acceptable enough. He hasn't shown much power, but he's making good contact, and his 14:15 BB:K demonstrates strong plate discipline. It's certainly possible that the shortstop, who posted a respectable 87 wRC+ in five MLB seasons, continues to improve as he adjusts to life in Korea, and he may be in the process of doing just that, as he has four hits over his last two games.

Park hit eighth Tuesday, which would make him not a great value at his high price, but he's included here because he hit as high as fifth against the last two lefties the Heroes have faced. He's looked like a number five hitter at times this season, as he had a quadruple-digit OPS as late into the season as June 16. His .676 OPS in 48 games since then is certainly nothing special, but his overall .267/.348/.473 slash line is quite good for a backstop when including both his hot and cold streaks.

Wyverns vs. Young Gun Jo: Jamie Romak ($4,900), Dong Min Han ($4,000), Tae In Chae ($2,700)

The opposite side of the same contest features a similarly enticing stack opportunity. The 21-year-old Jo owns a slightly better ERA and WHIP than his counterpart, Baek, posting marks of 5.52 and 1.65, respectively. He's struck out just 10.3 percent of opposing batters, however, while walking 12.4 percent. This could wind up as something close to a bullpen day, as Jo has lasted more than four innings in just two of his seven starts, though the Heroes' pen threw 6.1 innings Tuesday, so the team would likely prefer to get as much out of Jo as they can, which Wyverns hitters certainly won't mind seeing.

It's harder to fill out a Wyverns stack with Jeong Choi having missed the last two games with a sore back, but Romak is perfectly qualified to lead this group himself. Age appeared to be catching up with the 34-year-old Canadian, as his .816 OPS through Aug. 12 was below his lofty standards. His bat has come alive in a big way since then, however, as he's hitting .393/.470/.738 with eight homers and 28 RBI over his last 23 games.

Han isn't the most reliable player, but he should be a good bet in this one with the platoon advantage against a shaky young righty. On the season as a whole, he's shown good power but a poor average, hitting .249/.366/.508, though that line could rise along with his low .252 BABIP, as he's never recorded a BABIP below .295 in any of his first seven KBO campaigns. He hit a miserable .091/.231/.091 over a nine-game stretch in late August and early September, but he's since rebounded to hit two homers in his last three games.

Chae has played infrequently this season, but he hit third (right in front of Romak and Han) in Tuesday's game in the absence of Choi and will be a strong option if he fills that same role in this game. When he's been in the lineup, he's been quite effective, as he's hitting .292/.399/.446 through 151 plate appearances. The 37-year-old seems to be bouncing back from his mediocre 2019 campaign, in which he hit a modest .251/.306/.40.