This article is part of our DraftKings KBO series.
We're set for an interesting Saturday slate in the KBO, one that will see former MLB pitcher Mike Montgomery make his league debut and also features another former stateside arm that has revived his career overseas in Odrisamer Despaigne. There are also some questionable pitchers that opened the season as relievers taking the hill, which opens up some promising possibilities in terms of one-off bats and stacks.
As customary, I'll highlight what I consider to be two of the safer pitching options at different price points, followed by some one-off hitters across the salary scale that could also prove profitable for cash games and/or tournaments. I'll then recommend two stacks that I trust the most to potentially string some above-average offensive numbers together and pay off for you in tournaments.
Pitchers
Odrisamer Despaigne ($9,900) arguably should have an even better record than his solid 8-5 mark, as he's allowed three earned runs or less in 15 of 16 starts, a sample that includes four scoreless outings. The veteran right-hander has also recorded at least nine strikeouts in three of his past four trips to the mound, and he's boosted his strikeout rate from last season's 16.4 percent to 24.5 percent overall. Saturday, he gets a solid matchup against the Heroes, which do average 5.2 runs per game but have just 8.9 hits per game and have hit the third fewest home runs (48).
Woo Chan Cha ($7,800) has gotten his season off to a strong start, as he's fired a pair of scoreless outings and allowed only two runs overall in the 16 innings covering his first three trips to the mound. The left-hander has gone at least five frames in each and has posted 15.1 to 19.7 DK points in those outings, and Saturday, he draws a matchup that could well lead to an extension of his early success. The opposing Eagles have once again been one of the KBO's most punchless teams thus far this season, as they're averaging the second-fewest runs (3.95) and fewest hits (7.8) per game while also hitting the second-fewest home runs (40) and mustering the lowest team batting average (.237).
Top Targets
Eui Ji Yang ($5,900) continues to run roughshod over most pitchers put in front of him, as he's generated a .353/.459/.668 slash line with 37 XBH across 291 plate appearances. The slugging backstop checks into Saturday riding a nine-game hitting streak during which he's posted a .400 average and 1.196 OPS, along with four double-digit DK-point tallies. The veteran is also hitting an absurd .435 with runners in scoring position, and Saturday, the righty-swinging Yang gets an opposite-handed matchup against first-time KBO starter Mike Montgomery, who allowed a .333 average and .388 wOBA to the 20 right-handed hitters he faced in MLB.
Jeong Choi ($5,700) is enjoying a stellar season in his own right, as he heads into Saturday with a .307/.437/.619 slash line that includes 12 doubles, 20 home runs, 56 RBI, 44 walks and even seven steals. The Landers slugger checks into Saturday wielding a red-hot bat, as he's in the midst of a nine-game hitting streak during which he's posted a .467/.568/.967 slash line with three doubles, four home runs and 12 RBI. Saturday, he gets a matchup versus Lotte starter Se Woong Park, who's given up multiple home runs in three starts, including in a May 13 start against the Landers, where he was touched up for four earned runs across five frames, and who's currently sporting a career-high 1.2 HR/9.
Kyoung Min Heo ($4,200) is now slashing .317/.368/.429 for the season after a so-so start, and he checks into Saturday's contest with back-to-back three-hit efforts. The veteran is up to 20 extra-base hits (16 doubles, four home runs) on the season and he's battered Tigers pitching for a .524 average and 11.6 DK points per contest over five prior games. Heo is also hitting .320 over his last 12 games, and his matchup against Kia starter Yu Sin Kim couldn't be any more appealing – the southpaw has an 0-6 record, 8.64 ERA, 1.82 WHIP and massive 2.2 HR/9.
Bargain Bats
Ah Seop Son ($3,700) is averaging 8.4 KD points per road game and has hit .318 with an average of 8.8 DK points over five games against the Landers this season. The veteran is also surging coming into Saturday, posting 9.9 DK points per contest and a .907 OPS over his last 10 games. SSG starter Tae Yang Lee does have a solid 4-2 record, but it's accompanied by a 5.03 ERA, and he's just two starts removed from a complete meltdown against LG where he allowed nine earned runs, including five homers.
Sun Bin Kim ($3,700) has been at his best at home, where he sports a .319 average and .374 OBP, and where he's hit both of his homers this season. The shortstop has also greatly enjoyed his encounters with Bears pitchers, as he owns a .500 average and is scoring 12.8 DK points per contest in four prior matchups versus Doosan while not striking out a single time in 18 plate appearances. Kim has a pair of 21-point DK-point tallies in his last three games as well, and he faces a vulnerable starter in Min Gyu Kim, who has a 6.16 ERA, 1.63 WHIP and 1.2 HR/9, and who's only made two starts after starting the season in relief.
Stacks to Consider
Dinos vs. Mike Montgomery: Hui Dong Kwon ($3,600); Sung Bum Na ($5,500); Eui Ji Yang ($5,900); Aaron Altherr ($5,100)
Rostering the Dinos is never cheap, but it's often well worth it. NC is averaging a KBO-high 5.7 runs per game and is lacing the third-most hits per contest (9.4) while also falling just short of the Giants for the highest team batting average (.275). Montgomery is making his first KBO start and finished his career stateside in fairly rough shape, pitching to a 3-9 record, 4.95 ERA and 1.60 WHIP over 96.1 innings during the 2019 and 2020 seasons.
Kwon is actually a prudent value play that will help make rostering the rest of the Dinos easier due to his salary. The outfielder sports a solid .266 average and elite .406 OBP, and he's belted eight homers as well. He'll enter Saturday wielding a hot bat, as he owns a .343 average and .967 OPS across his last 12 games, belting two homers and 10 RBI during that stretch.
Na's .283 average is certainly more than serviceable, and although it still considerably lags behind his .324 figure from 2020, he enters Saturday on a nice upswing that's seen him slash .297/.333/.514 with a pair of homers over his last eight contests. It's also worth noting the veteran's home splits reveal an elite performer, as Na has 10 homers, a .343 average, 1.003 OPS and average of 11.1 DK points in 33 contests over that split.
Yang was already covered in detail earlier, while Altherr has been a better hitter overall on the road but is still averaging 8.8 DK points per home contest and has touched up Samsung pitching for a .321 average across eight games this season. He also checks in with some nice momentum, belting four homers and posting six double-digit DK-point tallies in the last nine games.
Bears vs. Yu Sin Kim: Kyoung Min Heo ($4,200); Jose Fernandez ($5,100); Kun Woo Park ($4,900); Suk Hwan Yang ($4,600)
Kim's weaknesses were already discussed earlier in Heo's entry, and it's also worth noting Doosan checks in averaging 5.3 runs per game, the second-most hits per game (9.5) and sporting a .275 team batting average.
Heo's attributes were discussed earlier, while Fernandez arrives with an average of 8.7 DK points per game and a .313 average over the last 10. He's been an excellent road hitter as well (.341/.429/.457 line across 35 games) and has a .381 average and is churning out 10.4 DK points per contest in five prior games versus Kia.
Park is offering a well-balanced line of .333/.401/.431 that's partly comprised of 14 doubles, two homers, 35 RBI, 22 walks, six steals and 34 runs. The veteran owns a .368 average with runners in scoring position and is hitting .350 and averaging 11 DK points per contest over five previous games against the Bears.
Finally, Yang carries an appealing salary for a player that sports a .284 average and .856 OPS, and that's already accumulated 30 extra-base hits (14 doubles, 16 home runs) and 49 RBI across 71 games. The slugging first baseman has a solid .292 average with runners in scoring position and has been at his most effective on the road, where he has a .306 average, .913 OPS and average of 9.4 DK points in 37 games.
