This article is part of our DraftKings KBO series.
It's not often that stacking Eagles hitters is the right way to go, but that was certainly the case on Saturday's slate, as the team exploded for 19 runs in their victory over the Twins. 20-year-old Si Hwan Roh continued his breakout season, going 4-for-5 with two homers, five runs scored and five RBI, while Woon Ho Jang and Min Ha Kim also grabbed four hits apiece. Stacking Bears likely would have worked out well, too, as Jae Hwan Kim and Jae Ho Kim each managed three hits and a homer in the team's 9-6 win against the Dinos. The Lions also provided a strong stack, with Ja Wook Koo and Jose Pirela each grabbing three hits (including the seventh homer of the year for Pirela) as they defeated the Tigers by an 8-4 score.
Sunday's slate, which begins at 1 a.m. ET, looks to be split between a handful of very strong pitcher options and a handful of prime stack targets.
Pitchers
The Lions may have gone off Saturday, but they're unlikely to do the same Sunday against Aaron Brooks ($9,300). Brooks' 3.42 ERA and 1.35 WHIP are still held back by one poor, seven-run outing against the Dinos, but he's allowed a combined two earned runs across his other three outings. Those starts tell a more accurate picture of who he should be this season, as he was one of the best pitchers in the KBO last year, finishing with a 2.50 ERA and 1.02 WHIP. His low 10.3 percent strikeout rate this season does provide some cause for concern, but he struck out a strong 22.2 percent of batters last season, so that number should be expected to rise soon.
Seung Won Moon ($8,500) gets what could be an easier than expected matchup against a Heroes team which finds itself surprisingly in last place in the standings and eighth in scoring. The 31-year-old is coming off a strong season in which he posted a 3.65 ERA and 1.24 WHIP, backing those up with a strong combination of a 19.2 percent strikeout rate and 7.4 percent walk rate. His strikeout rate has fallen to 15.9 percent through three starts this season, but that hasn't affected his bottom line yet, as he owns a 3.18 ERA and 1.00 WHIP. His recent track record suggests it's more likely the strikeouts return than his other numbers fall off.
If you're looking for a cheaper option, consider dropping all the way down to Seung Heon Lee ($6,000). The 22-year-old comes with plenty of risk, as his first two starts this year haven't been good. His 4.82 ERA could certainly be worse, but his 2.04 WHIP and 5:10 K:BB are about as bad as they can get. Still, there was enough in the young righty's eight starts last season to make him an interesting gamble. His 4.66 ERA that year was nothing special, but both his 21.7 percent strikeout rate and 7.0 percent walk rate were strong. He'll have a chance to outperform his low price tag against a Wiz lineup which will be without star third baseman Jae Gyun Hwang, who's expected to require surgery after fracturing his nose Saturday.
Top Targets
If Lee doesn't interest you, consider selecting Baek Ho Kang ($5,400), who will get the platoon advantage against him. The 21-year-old has gotten off to a remarkable start, hitting .408/.476/.549. His 1.025 OPS is good for fifth among qualified hitters, and that's all while homering just twice. The power should eventually come around, as he homered 23 times last year and 29 times as an 18-year-old rookie back in 2018. He's seeing the ball very well, walking nine times against just seven strikeouts, which could form the platform for an MVP push if he can start clearing the fence on a regular basis.
Sung Bum Na ($5,300) may not have gotten off to his strongest start, but that's just made one of the best sluggers in the league surprisingly affordable. That's not to say he's been anything close to bad, as his .243/.341/.500 line is one that most players in the league would be happy to achieve. Much more can be expected of him, however, as he's hit .316 over the course of his nine-year career and is coming off a year in which he hit .324 with 34 homers. He'll get the platoon advantage against Bears righty Young Ha Lee, who owns a 9.00 ERA and 2.21 WHIP through his first three starts.
Bargain Bats
Ah Seop Son ($3,800) led the Giants with .910 OPS last season, but a slow start to the season has given him the seventh-highest price tag among Giants hitters. With six two-hit games in his last eight, however, he seems to be getting back to his usual form. That form would make him one of the best contact hitters in the entire league, as he finished second among qualified hitters with a .352 batting average last season. He should be able to have another multi-hit day Saturday with the platoon advantage against Wiz right-hander Je Seong Bae, whose poor 5.65 ERA comes with a 1.88 WHIP and an 11:13 K:BB.
I'm still not sold on Si Hwan Roh's breakout enough to feel comfortable paying $5,900 for him, as he had just a .686 OPS last year, but teammate Eun Won Jung ($3,000) makes for a fine budget alternative. He's interesting primarily because he'll lead off and get the platoon advantage against Min Ho Lee, who allowed six runs in 3.1 innings in his season debut, but he's not a bad hitter in his own right. He has hardly any power, as he's yet to homer this season, but his .455 on-base percentage sits fourth among qualified hitters. He's demonstrated an excellent eye, walking 19 times, four more than anyone else in the league. If the Eagles have another big day Sunday, he could score multiple runs.
Stacks to Consider
Tigers vs. Seung Min Lee: Hyung Woo Choi ($4,900), Won Jun Choi ($4,600), Preston Tucker ($4,100)
The Tigers have struggled at the plate as a team so far this season, as they rank ninth in the league in runs scored. A date with Lee should sort that out, however. The 20-year-old lefty debuted last year with five starts and a pair of relief appearances and looked very overmatched. He finished with a 6.84 ERA and 2.01 WHIP in 26.1 innings, striking out 16 and walking 19. His 11:5 K:BB and 1.31 WHIP in 13 innings so far this year are much more encouraging, but he still owns a poor 6.23 ERA after getting lit up for six runs in just 2.1 innings his last time out against the Landers.
Hyung Woo Choi's .239/.413/.408 slash line to start the season is far from poor, but it's beneath his usual standards. He's recorded an OPS as low as his current mark of .821 just once in his previous 13 seasons as a regular. It certainly wouldn't be a surprise to see his numbers fall off in his age-37 season, though they showed no signs of doing so last year, when he hit .354/.438/.590, winning the batting title and trailing only MVP Mel Rojas Jr. in OPS. His .241 BABIP this year looks to be primarily what's holding his numbers down, as he's demonstrated excellent control of the zone, walking 15 times to go with just 13 strikeouts.
Won Jun Choi is locked into the leadoff spot and leads the Tigers with 14 runs. He should be able to score a few more if the Tigers are able to get to Lee as expected Sunday. He hardly has any power to speak of, never managing more than four homers in a season, but he's still a qualified table-setting. He's hit a solid .291/.333/.405 on the season but is capable of getting on base at a much higher rate, as seen in his .379 on-base percentage last season. He's also already stolen four bases, tying him for sixth in the league.
Tucker is off to a very poor start to the season, but that's created a clear buying opportunity. His .225/.279/.288 slash line isn't close to indicative of his talent, and he's unlikely to remain this cheap for long. He's slowly been picking this up at the plate, going hitless just once in his last 11 games and grabbing a season-high four hits in Saturday's contest. Once he finally finds his groove, he should be among the best hitters in the entire league, as he hit .306 with 32 homers and 113 RBI last season.
Landers vs. Jeong In Kim: Shin Soo Choo ($5,900), Joo Hwan Choi ($4,900), Jamie Romak ($4,200)
The fact that Kim is about to make his fourth start of the season is emblematic of the Heroes' struggles thus far. If he completes the first inning Saturday, he'll already surpass his previous career high of 13.2 frames. It's not hard to see why he's never been given a regular role, as he owns a career 7.82 ERA and 2.03 WHIP in 38 total innings. Against that backdrop, his 7.62 ERA and 1.69 WHIP this year look almost decent, but there's no reason to believe he'll be able to slow down the revamped Landers lineup Sunday.
Even at age 39, Choo should be one of the best players in the KBO. No other hitter in the league comes remotely close to his MLB resume, as he recorded 1,671 hits at the highest level over his 16-year career. In contrast, his teammate Romak, who's carved out a very successful career in Korea, has just six total MLB hits. Even in his age-37 season last year, Choo was close to league average at the MLB level. It took him a few games to find his footing with his new team, but he's been on a tear over his last eight, homering four times and driving in 10 runs while adding three steals. He now sits tied for fifth with five homers and alone in third with six steals.
Along with Choo, Choi has been a key part of the renaissance that has seen the Landers jump out to first place in the standings after looking lost down in ninth last year. The veteran second baseman joined in free agency after a long and successful career with the Bears, a team he helped lead to six straight Korean Series appearances. He appears to be reaching a new level at the plate in his age-33 season, however, hitting .361/.395/.611 through 18 games. He's only twice hit more than seven homers (with his total of 16 last year standing as his second-best) but he already has four this year to go with 15 RBI.
Romak is included over teammate Jeong Choi ($5,700) primarily for budget reasons given the expensive price tags on the first two options, but that shouldn't take away from his own talent. The Canadian slugger owns a career .930 OPS early in his fifth KBO campaign and has never hit fewer than 29 homers in a season. His .810 OPS this season is beneath his usual standards, but that's held back by the fact that he went hitless in his first five games. Since that point, he's hitting .306 with four homers and 11 RBI in 12 games.
