This article is part of our DraftKings KBO series.
Six KBO games were played Thursday, with four decided by two runs or less, including a pair of ties. The Bears swept a doubleheader against the Dinos to pull within two games of the final playoff spot, with Ariel Miranda and Won Joon Choi combining to allow just a single earned run in 13 innings of work. In the other matchups between two playoff hopefuls, the Twins edged past the Lions by a 4-3 score to move back into second place, with Geon Chang Seo leading the way with his third straight multi-hit game, while the league-leading Wiz handed the slumping Landers their fifth straight loss, winning 10-5 thanks in part to Baek Ho Kang's pair of homers.
We may be going from six games Thursday down to just two on Friday, as only the Eagles-Heroes and Bears-Dinos games look safe from rain as of writing. Players from all five contests will feature here, as it's tough to make a cheat sheet out of just four rosters, but you'll certainly want to double-check the weather closer to game time.
Pitchers
Ryan Carpenter ($7,400) has been dominant lately and his game will definitely be safe, as it's taking place indoors at Gocheok Sky Dome, so he's arguably both the highest-floor and highest-ceiling option Friday. That makes him an absolute steal at this confusingly low price. The lefty's season can be divided into three parts. He tore out of the gate, cruising to a 1.69 ERA and 1.11 WHIP over his first nine starts in Korea. He then took a huge step back, struggling to a 7.76 ERA and 1.79 WHIP over his next six outings. In his final start before the Olympic break and his three starts since, however, he hasn't allowed a single earned run, striking out 32 batters in 23 innings over that stretch while posting a 0.87 WHIP.
The best reason not to select Carpenter is because you'd rather roster Chan Heon Jeong ($7,000) instead, who starts against him for the Heroes. In a vacuum, I'd much rather pay an extra $400 to get the upside Carpenter provides, but if you want to avoid the crowd the southpaw will likely draw, you could certainly do much worse than Jung. Jung's fantasy value is capped by his low 12.3 percent strikeout rate, but he's been quite effective despite that lack of whiffs, cruising to a 3.47 ERA in 14 starts thanks in large part to a very low 4.1 percent walk rate. He's allowed no more than one run in four of his last five starts and should have similar success against the last-ranked Eagles lineup Friday.
If you're looking to spend a bit more, Tae In Won ($8,100) should be a strong choice, as he typically is when he's not stuck pitching at the Lions' hitter-friendly home park. He'll be in Incheon on Friday to take on a Twins lineup that ranks eighth in scoring. The 21-year-old didn't do much more than hold his own in his first two years in the league, with his 4.86 ERA and 1.49 WHIP coming with a low 13.0 percent strikeout rate. He was on fire to start this season, posting a 1.18 ERA through his first six starts, before allowing 12 runs on 20 hits across his next two outings. He's since righted the ship, however, posting a 2.36 ERA in his last seven starts, and that streak should continue against a mediocre Landers lineup.
Top Targets
Ja Wook Koo ($5,900), like the rest of his Lions teammates, gets less exciting when not playing at home, but he's been on such a tear recently that I'd be willing to pay up for him even in pitcher-friendly Jamsil Baseball Stadium. He's grabbed at least one hit in all 13 games thus far in the second half, slashing .360/.450/.600 over that stretch. He's also demonstrated plenty of speed, stealing six bases over that stretch. He's now tied for third with 22 steals, and just one of the other 12 players with double-digit steals can beat his 13 homers. He should stay hot Friday, as he'll get the platoon advantage against young Twins righty Min Ho Lee, who owns a 5.19 ERA.
Hyoung Woo Choi ($4,100) is now above the $4,000 threshold, the mark I usually use to differentiate between these two sections, but he remains a great value even at this price. If I told you heading into the season that you could get last year's batting title winner, a player who hit .354/.438/.590 on the season, for this kind of price, you'd be shocked. Choi hasn't come close to repeating those marks overall this year, hitting .234/.385/.385, but that's largely due to an eye condition he battled early in the year. He's clearly seeing the ball well now, as he's hit .338/.449/.538 over his last 18 games with more walks (13) than strikeouts (11). That run should continue here against Giants righty Enderson Franco, who owns a mediocre 4.41 ERA.
Bargain Bats
Sticking with the Tigers, I'd be interested in pairing Choi with Preston Tucker ($3,600). Tucker's low price tag looks well-deserved, as he's hitting a thoroughly unimpressive .239/.351/.345 on the season with just five homers in 77 games. He's finally shown a few signs of life over his last three games, however, grabbing four hits and five walks while striking out just once. His plate discipline has remained excellent this season, as he's walked 12.8 percent of the time to go with an 11.9 percent strikeout rate, so there's potentially much more to come from him in the second half if his .262 BABIP rises.
On the other side of that contest, Dae Ho Lee ($4,000) looks strong as usual as a mid-tier option at the very deep first base position. The 39-year-old isn't the player he was at his peak, when he cracked the 1.000 OPS mark three times in five seasons from 2007 to 2011 and then played in Japan and the United States, but he still has plenty to offer. His .295/.361/.494 season slash line easily justifies his price tag, and he's had looked quite good over his last 10 games, homering four times while recording a 1.061 OPS. He gets what should be a fairly easy matchup against Tigers righty Gi Yeong Im, who owns a 4.52 ERA.
Stacks to Consider
Wiz vs. Sam Gaviglio: Baek Ho Kang ($6,100), Jae Gyun Hwang ($4,900), Yong Ho Cho ($3,000)
I'd normally prefer to give a pitcher with MLB experience more than four KBO starts before recommending a stack against him, but this slate is quite deep in the pitching department. Additionally, Gaviglio has been so poor in those starts that it might be smart to stack against him even on a different slate. He's allowed 22 runs in his first 18.1 innings in Korea, good for a 10.31 ERA, a number he's paired with a 1.91 WHIP. He struck out eight batters in his most recent outing, but that came with seven runs on nine hits in just four innings of work and was only enough to raise his strikeout rate to 15.7 percent. He'll remain a very tempting stack target until he strings a few good starts together.
Kang is arguably the best hitter in Korea right now, as his 1.090 OPS ranks second only to Eui Ji Yang's 1.101 mark, so he's a strong choice against pitchers who've been far better than Gaviglio has. His .387 batting average (which was as high as .400 as recently as last week) will likely drop along with his .436 BABIP down the stretch, but he could make up for that with more power, as his two homers Thursday indicate. He now has 13 for the year but hit 29 back in his rookie season in 2018. Hwang benefits from some of the best lineup protection available while batting directly in front of Kang in the number two spot. The former San Francisco Giant has seven hits in his last two games, raising his OPS to .857. Cho really hasn't been good this season but is included here because he comes at a very inexpensive price for someone who gets to hit in front of Kang and Hwang as the Wiz's regular leadoff man. His .648 OPS is poor, but that comes from his anemic .278 slugging percentage, as he's actually quite good at getting on base, doing so at a .370 clip.
Dinos vs. Walker Lockett: Eui Ji Yang ($5,700), Sung Bum Na ($5,500), Jeong Won Choi ($2,700)
This is a far riskier stack than I typically recommend, as Lockett looked like one of the better pitchers in the league for most of the year, but on a day that's loaded with decent or better pitching, stacking against someone who's been slumping lately is potentially a good idea. I certainly wouldn't have recommended stacking against Lockett through his first 12 starts, a stretch in which he recorded a remarkable 1.79 ERA while allowing more than one run just once. His final start before the break and his first two of the second half haven't been nearly as good, however. He owns an 8.04 ERA and 1.72 WHIP over that stretch while walking nine batters in 15.2 innings. He's still in play as a pitcher worth considering himself if you want to bet on a bounceback, but the absence of strong alternatives makes betting on another poor start look like the better idea.
Yang could still have a big day even iff Lockett returns to his former self, as he's been the best hitter in the league this season, leading all qualified hitters with a 1.101 OPS. He'd be a strong option at this price even at first base but is an incredible bargain as a catcher. Na's OPS is down 95 points from where it sat last year, but you have to be quite a good hitter to slash .289/.357/.537 in a down season. He's been swinging a hot bat since shortly before the break, homering six times in his last 13 games while posting a 1.115 OPS. Choi's main appeal is that he's very inexpensive for someone who bats directly in front of Yang and Na out of the second spot in the order, a role he's picked up since the Dinos lost four players to health-protocol suspensions over the break. The 21-year-old's KBO track record is very short, as he only has 110 career plate appearances, but he's hit .295 over that stretch while adding 10 steals.
