This article is part of our DraftKings KBO series.
Saturday's KBO slate on DraftKings featured just four games, but three teams managed to reach double digits. Two of those came in the same game, with the Dinos and Landers battling to a 10-10 tie. Jeong Choi went 4-for-5 with a homer for the Landers, while Hui Dong Kwon went 3-for-5 with a homer of his own for the Dinos. The Wiz also had a big day offensively, cruising to an 11-2 win over the Eagles thanks in part to two homers from Baek Ho Kang. There weren't any great pitching performances available, with Eric Jokisch's five innings of one-run ball in the Heroes' 6-1 win over the Tigers standing as one of the best even though he struck out just three batters.
We're back to a five-game slate Sunday, with all five games beginning at 3:58 a.m. ET. Rain doesn't appear to be a factor as of writing.
Pitchers
Odrisamer Despaigne ($9,700) wasn't much more than an innings eater last season, as his 207.2 frames were nine more than anyone else managed, but his 4.33 ERA, 1.45 WHIP and 16.4 percent strikeout rate in those innings were all sub-par for a foreign starter. He's still eating innings this season, as he'll move into the lead in that category if he lasts at least three innings Sunday, but the quality of those innings has dramatically improved. His strikeout rate has shot up to 23.8 percent, helping reduce his ERA to 2.40 and his WHIP to 1.23. He had a bit of a blip in his last start in May and his first outing in June, allowing a combined nine runs in 8.2 innings, but he's since rebounded to produce a 2.50 ERA and a 25:7 K:BB in 18 innings over his last three starts. He should continue that kind of form Sunday against an Eagles lineup which ranks second-last in scoring.
Hyun Hee Han ($8,800) will face an even worse lineup, a last-ranked Tigers squad which has managed just 3.7 runs per game. That should help him bounce back from a poor outing his last time out against the Bears, in which he gave up six runs in three innings with twice as many walks (four) as strikeouts (two). For most of the year, he's been pretty good, as he carried a 3.41 ERA and 1.33 WHIP heading into his last start. He was pretty good for most of last year, too, as he had a 3.89 ERA outside of a two-start stretch in the middle of the year in which he was lit up for 17 runs in 3.2 innings. On the whole, Han isn't a frontline starter, but he's nearly always a capable mid-rotation option, which should be more than enough to get things done against the Tigers.
Se Woong Park ($8,200) is a similarly decent but not dominant mid-priced option. After posting an unremarkable 4.70 ERA and 1.52 WHIP last season, the 25-year-old righty has recorded a 4.20 ERA and 1.21 WHIP in his first 13 starts this year. He's improved his strikeout rate from 16.4 percent to 19.4 percent, giving him a bit more fantasy upside. He's coming off a start in which he recorded a season-high nine strikeouts against the loaded Dinos lineup, so the fifth-ranked Bears offense shouldn't be an insurmountable challenge, especially at pitcher-friendly Jamsil Baseball Stadium. That performance against the Dinos represented his fifth quality start in his last six trips to the mound, and he'll have a good shot at another one here.
Top Targets
DraftKings displays a player's fantasy points per game over their last 10 games. I can't remember the last time I saw a number even in the ballpark of Eui Ji Yang's ($5,900) ridiculous mark of 17.2. That's an incredible number at any position, but it's simply absurd production at catcher, where no one but Yang is even averaging 8.0 points per game on the year. The 34-year-old backstop is making a clear case for MVP this season, as his 1.137 OPS leads all other qualified hitters by at least 61 points. He's tied for the league lead in homers with 19 after clearing the fence eight times in his last 12 games, while his 20 RBI over that stretch give him 67 for the year, eight more than anybody else. Landers righty Tae Yang Lee, who owns a 5.94 ERA on the year, seemingly stands little chance of slowing him down.
The Lions don't have the easiest matchup against Twins righty Chan Heon Jeong, who owns a 3.65 ERA on the year, but Jeong has been allowing tons of contact, striking out no more than two batters in each of his last six starts. That could be a problem for him at the league's most hitter-friendly ballpark Sunday. Ja Wook Koo ($4,900) will get the platoon advantage against the veteran righty and looks set to do some damage at the plate. Koo's season divides into three very different parts. He tore out of the gate, posting a 1.057 OPS through his first 28 games, before crashing hard and posting a .423 OPS over his next 20 contests. He's found himself again over his last 13 games, however, homering five times and stealing three bases while slashing .385/.429/.750.
Bargain Bats
Koo's teammate Won Seok Lee ($3,100) won't get the platoon advantage against Jung, but he's nevertheless a strong budget option whenever the Lions play at hitter-friendly Daegu Samsung Lions Park. The veteran third baseman has hit just .234/.327/.340 on the road this season but is slashing .287/.405/.500 at home. Through five games on the team's current homestand, he's gone 8-for-15 at the plate. Even Lee's overall .261/.367/.420 slash line would be good enough to justify his modest price tag, but the fact that he's been far better than that at home makes him a real bargain.
The Giants easily could have been one of the day's top stacks against Bears righty Young Ha Lee and his 9.82 ERA, but the fact that the team skews heavily right-handed gave the nod to other options. Ah Seop Son ($3,900) earns yet another mention in this space, as he'll get the platoon advantage against Lee and has been on a tear lately. Son is typically a near lock for an excellent batting average, as he's hit no lower than .295 in every year since 2010 and owns a lifetime .324 average. It looked like things were changing this year, as he hit just .257 through his first 41 games, but he's since turned things around dramatically to hit .418 over his last 23 contests, dragging his season average all the way up to .311.
Stacks to Consider
Heroes vs. Myong Jin Cha: Jung Hoo Lee ($6,000), Geon Chang Seo ($4,200), Yong Kyu Lee ($3,600)
Another day, another chance to stack against the Tigers, who keep trotting out significantly sub-par starters in the absence of Aaron Brooks (arm) and Daniel Mengden (elbow). In comparison to Min Woo Lee (11.10 ERA) and Yu Sin Kim (8.64 ERA), the team's last two starters, Cha's 7.71 ERA doesn't look too bad, but that's saying incredibly little. That number has come in just two starts and one relief appearance, but nothing in the rest of the 26-year-old's statline gives any reason for encouragement. He owns a 2.29 WHIP on the year while striking out just four batters and walking eight in seven innings. He's only thrown 40.1 career KBO innings, but a lifetime 6.02 ERA hardly suggests things are about to get significantly better.
The Heroes lineup gives us a large number of lefties to choose from. It's tough to start anywhere but Jung Hoo Lee, who's among the league's best contact hitters, batting .341 while striking out just 6.7 percent of the time. He's only cleared the fence three times this season, but his 27 doubles outpace the rest of the field by nine. Seo has settled into the leadoff spot over the Heroes' last 12 games, with the team keeping faith in the 2014 MVP despite some early struggles. He's gotten on base at a .350 clip over that stretch and has scored nine runs. Yong Kyu Lee set the table well for the Eagles last season but scored just 60 runs in 120 games due to the lack of support from his teammates. He's already scored 40 times in 65 games this season, including eight times in his last 10 games, a stretch in which he's hitting .471/.550/.618 with four steals.
Landers vs. Jae Hak Lee: Jeong Choi ($4,500), Joo Hwan Choi ($4,200), Yoo Seom Han ($3,500)
Lee may have thrown five scoreless innings against the Giants his last time out, but even that outing came with a poor 2:3 K:BB. Even if that start was strong all-around, it wouldn't be enough to wipe off the stain of what's now almost a year and a half of very poor performances. He struggled to a 6.55 ERA and 1.63 WHIP in 19 outings last season, striking out just 14.9 percent of opposing batters while walking 10.5 percent. Even after his stronger start in his last turn in the rotation, he still owns a 9.00 ERA and 2.12 WHIP through four trips to the mound this season, striking out 14.3 percent of opposing batters while walking 20.2 percent. He wasn't good upon a demotion to the Futures League earlier this season, either, posting a 4.99 ERA and 1.50 WHIP in six starts. It's hard to see him recording another solid outing Sunday.
The stack skips the slumping Shin Soo Choo, who has just a single hit in his last eight games, to pair the right-handed Jeong Choi with a pair of lefties. The 34-year-old slugger already sits second on the KBO's all-time home run leaderboard with 387 career bombs and is seemingly only getting better with age. After homering in three straight games and six times in his last 12 contests, he sits tied atop the leaderboard with 19. 33-year-old second baseman Joo Hwan Choi doesn't appear to be losing anything at this stage of his career, either. His eight homers in 47 games are already halfway to the 16 he launched last season. Han homered 15 times in 62 games in an injury-shortened season last year and has 11 in 61 contests this season. Just five of those came in his first 47 appearances, but he's since gone on to hit .361/.479/.861 with six homers in his last 14 games.
