DFS KBO: Wednesday Cheat Sheet

Tuesday's KBO slate featured quite a few strong pitchers and wound up quite low-scoring, as expected, with teams averaging just three runs apiece. Even the Lions-Dinos game, which looked quite likely to feature plenty of runs given the quality of starting pitchers, wound up as a tightly-fought 3-2 win for the Dinos after Tae In Won and Young Gyu Kim combined to allow just one run in 12 innings of work. Quality starts weren't hard to find, however, as seven of the 10 starters managed one. Dan Straily was the bench of the bunch, howling the Wiz to just a single hit in seven scoreless innings while striking out eight in the Giants' 8-0 win. Hyun Hee Han wasn't far behind, as he struck out six Tigers in seven scoreless innings while allowing just three hits in a 2-0 victory for the Heroes. All that strong pitching meant strong hitting was hard to find, though if you happened to roster Eagles number seven hitter Kwang Min Song you would have been quite happy, as he went 2-for-4 with a homer and four RBI -- the highest total on the day -- as the Eagles upset the Bears 5-1. 

Wednesday's slate features another set of pitchers that's quite strong overall, so we could be in for another low-scoring day.

Pitchers

Jake Brigham ($10,400) endured a rough start to the year, pitching fairly poorly when not out with elbow issues. He seems to be firmly past those issues now, however, as he owns a 3.05 ERA and a 1.21 WHIP over his last seven starts, striking out 47 batters in 41.1 innings. He's allowed two or fewer runs in six of those outings, with the long exception of a six-run performance against the Wiz in his first start of September. His recent run isn't particularly surprising, as it's right in line with his 2.96 ERA and 1.23 WHIP from 2018. He shouldn't face much of a challenge Wednesday against the sixth-ranked Tigers lineup, a unit which failed to manage a run against his considerably less dominant teammate Hyun Hee Han in their previous game.

Drew Rucinski ($9,500) is a similarly strong and somewhat cheaper option to co-headline this slate. He endured a rough patch from late July through late August, posting a 7.33 ERa and a 1.89 WHIP over five starts, but he appears to be fully past that now. In his last four outings, he owns a 2.10 ERA and a 0.97 WHIP. In his last two, he's been even better, allowing just a single run on nine hits over 13.2 frames while striking out 17 and walking just two. That run should continue here against the eighth-ranked Lions lineup.

If you're looking to save budget space after grabbing one of the aforementioned pair, Min Gyu Kim ($4,700) looks like he's worth a shot. The primary reason he's interesting is that he gets to face the last-ranked Eagles offense, a unit that doesn't have a single regular with an OPS above .716. (League-average OPS in the KBO sits at .760.) Kim isn't a dominant pitcher by any means, but he's not terrible. His 5.34 ERA and 1.32 WHIP are held back by a horrendous first outing of the season in which he allowed seven runs without recording a single out. Since that point, he owns a 3.26 ERA and a 1.12 WHIP. Granted, that comes in just 30.1 innings, as all but two of his appearances this year have come in relief, but there's at least something here and you're not paying much for it. He threw 91 pitches in a relief appearance his last time out, so this appears to be a true start and not a bullpen game.

Top Targets

Jung Hoo Lee ($5,500) went through an uncharacteristic slump from mid-August through early September, hitting just .193/.261/.325 over a 21-game stretch. He appears to be fully back in form now, however, as he's hitting .432/.522/.486 with 11 RBI in his last 11 games. That slump put a dent in his season-long numbers, but he still owns a .952 OPS, good for eighth-best among qualified hitters. He'll get the platoon advantage Wednesday against Tigers righty Ki Young Im, who owns a 6.35 ERA over his last eight starts.

Adrian Sampson has pitched better lately, but his 5:7 K:BB over his last two starts suggests he was lucky to escape having allowed just four earned runs. I'd be perfectly happen to include a few Wiz hitters against him, with Baek Ho Kang ($4,800) standing as the most cost-effective of their top bats. His .329/.427/.457 slash line in the month of September is comparable to his .316/.403/.530 line overall in everywhere except the slugging department. He's capable of going on a run of homers at any time, however, as he homered five times in the first 12 games of the year, five more times in a 10-game stretch in mid-June and four more times in a five-game stretch in late August.

Bargain Bats

While this slate contains quite a few top pitchers, not all of them are reliable, with William Cuevas standing as a prime example. He's alternated between allowing six or more runs and one or fewer over his last four starts. With that in mind, adding a few Giants doesn't seem like a bad idea. Ah Seop Son ($3,800) remains the top choice for the Giants against a righty, as he's the lone left-hander among the team's top bats. He's been swinging quite well for quite some time, hitting .392/.411/.520 over his last 30 games while striking out just five times over that stretch.

Tyler Wilson is in a similar position to Cuevas, as his seven shutout innings his last time out followed a three-start stretch in which he had an 8.50 ERA. That last start has me a bit nervous about using the Wyverns' most expensive bats, but taking a cheap flyer on Ji Hoon Choi ($2,700) could pay off. Choi will get the platoon advantage against Wilson and should lead off, giving him the chance to get driven in by the team's more expensive options. The 23-year-old rookie has produced a largely empty batting average this season, hitting .274/.331/.342 overall. He's propped up his fantasy value with a respectable 14 steals, however, and he's been hot at the plate recently, going .359/.381/.410 over his last 11 games.

Stacks to Consider

Dinos vs. Seung Min Lee: Eui Ji Yang ($5,900), Suk Min Park ($3,900), Aaron Altherr ($4,900)

The Dinos stack proved to be a dud Tuesday, as they scored just three runs, but I'd be perfectly happy to go right back to them against Lee here. The 20-year-old rookie has made just one start and two relief appearances this year, but he hasn't done anything to suggest he belongs at this level. In 7.2 innings, he's allowed 10 runs, striking out four batters while walking 10. That sample size could hardly be smaller, but it could hardly be much worse. He does own a respectable 3.95 ERA in 54.2 frames in the Futures League, but that's not nearly enough to give reason to believe he can handle the league's top lineup Wednesday.

Yang is good enough to include almost regardless of who he's facing, but he's as good a play as ever with the platoon advantage against a shaky lefty here. He dominates the catcher pool, leading in nearly every relevant statistic by huge margins. His 22 homers lead the rest of the group by seven, while his 92 RBI are first by a margin of 27. He even has five steals, just one fewer than the rest of the league's catchers combined. His .995 OPS on the season is good for third in the league at any position among qualified batters, though he's been significantly better than that over his last 35 contests, posting an OPS of 1.204.

Park hasn't been at his best down the stretch, hitting a modest .238/.403/.287 since the start of August, but this feels like the ideal time for him to start bouncing back. In truth, the bounceback may have already started, as he's reached base six times over his last three games. Even during his slump, he's maintained strong plate discipline, walking 22 times against 23 strikeouts. Including the bad with the good, the 35-year-old owns a strong .281/.411/.424 season slash line, which more than justifies his fairly cheap price given the matchup in this one.

I'll drop from the fifth spot in the order to the likely number eight hitter in Altherr, though number six hitter Jin Sung Kang ($4,100) deserves consideration if you're willing to overlook his recent slump. It remains something of a mystery why Altherr is stuck hitting so low in the lineup, as his .296/.369/.563 season slash line sure looks like it belongs to someone who hits in the heart of the order. He's been even better than that over his last 22 games, hitting .346/.409/.617.

Bears vs. Jin Wook Kim: Jose Fernandez ($5,400), Jae Hwan Kim ($4,200), Soo Bin Jung ($2,800)

The Bears haven't been at their best lately, scoring just 3.3 runs per game over their last six contests. Facing Jin Wook Kim should give them a great opportunity to bounce back, however. The 20-year-old righty hasn't shown much in four starts and 14 relief appearances this season, struggling to a 5.61 ERA and a 1.66 WHIP. His 15.7 percent strikeout rate and 10.5 percent walk rate hardly suggests he deserves much better than that. In his previous start, the Twins knocked him around to the tune of eight runs in three innings, and their Seoul rivals could give him a similarly difficult time here.

Fernandez had been in a bit of a slump over parts of the last two weeks, but he appears to be past it now. He has three multi-hit games in his last four contests, homering twice. That gives him 18 homers for the year, already three more than he managed in his excellent KBO debut last season. He hasn't sacrificed anything to add power, as his .358/.419/.528 slash line is better than his .344/.409/.483 mark from last year in all three categories.

Jae Hwan Kim's price is lower than usual due to his recent slump, though it's somewhat of an odd slump. He hasn't managed a multi-hit game since late August, but he's also gone hitless just twice in his last 11 games, reaching base in 10 of those games. His .209/.320/.465 slash line over that stretch is good for an acceptable .785 OPS, and he's homered three times. Even if he's not at his best, he should still be worth paying up for here given the matchup.

The Bears have shifted their lineup around in recent days to kickstart their stumbling offense, and Jung has been the man to benefit, batting second in two of the last three games. While he's certainly not the Bears' best hitter, he'll be quite a strong value play at his price if he's again surrounded by the team's top bats. His .303/.360/.394 slash line is good for a modest .754 OPS, and he's only homered three times, but he's swung a hot bat over his last seven contests. He's gone hitless just once over that stretch, hitting .400/.500/.480 while scoring seven runs.