This article is part of our DraftKings KBO series.
The KBO's disrupted stretch continued Saturday, with just two games going forward. The Dinos-Heroes and Twins-Bears contests were cancelled for the second straight day due to COVID-19, and that pair was joined by a cancellation between the Wiz and Tigers, as the Tigers had recently played against the Bears, who had two organization members test positive Saturday. That meant we saw just nine total runs scored on the day, as both games that went forward turned out to be very low-scoring. The Lions got three runs in the first inning and never needed any more the rest of the way as they slipped past the Giants by a 3-2 score, while Min Woo Kim struck out nine batters and allowed just a single run on two hits in six innings of work as the Eagles beat the Landers, 3-1.
The size of Sunday's slate is undetermined as of writing. Each matchup that got canceled Saturday could easily get postponed again Sunday, while rain is a factor as well, casting the Eagles-Landers matchup in some doubt. With uncertainty affecting nearly every matchup on the slate, this piece will feature recommendations from all five games, many of which have been pulled from yesterday's cheat sheet.
Pitchers
Odrisamer Despaigne ($9,600) is again scheduled to take on the ninth-ranked Tigers lineup, and he'll be one of the best of a large group of options if the game is able to go forward. Despaigne wasn't much more than an innings eater last season, as he led the league by tossing 207.2 frames but posted a mediocre 4.33 ERA and 1.45 WHIP. He's been something else entirely this season, with his ERA and WHIP dropping to 2.42 and 1.27, respectively, backed by a huge jump in his strikeout rate from 16.4 percent to 23.9 percent. He's coming off an unimpressive outing his last time on the hill against the Heroes, giving up three runs while failing to complete the fifth inning, but I'm willing to forgive one bad outing given how dominant he's been throughout the year.
Wilmer Font ($9,700) is the only pitcher who gets an easier assignment than Despaigne on Sunday, as he'll face an Eagles side that now sits last in scoring after crossing the plate three or fewer times in 11 of their last 15 games. Like Despaigne, he doesn't need an opponent nearly this weak to be a strong option. His 3.56 ERA through his first 14 KBO starts may be more good than great, but his underlying numbers suggest he could finish the year as one of the best starters in the league. His 1.07 WHIP is excellent, as is his combination of a 28.2 percent strikeout rate and 7.2 percent walk rate. Font does own an uninspiring 5.00 ERA over his last three starts, but he struck out 12 batters in his most recent outing, which hardly suggests he's in a slump.
Andrew Suarez ($8,600) is in a bit of a rough patch of his own, recording a 5.40 ERA over his last three starts, and the fifth-ranked Bears offense isn't the easiest of tasks, but his resume over the rest of the season makes him very interesting at his mid-tier price, especially with the game taking place at pitcher-friendly Jamsil Baseball Stadium. Prior to his recent blip, Suarez may well have been the best pitcher in the league, as he owned a 1.95 ERA and 1.15 WHIP through his fist 11 starts. His strong 24.7 percent strikeout rate gives him big fantasy upside on any given night.
Top Targets
The Landers could easily have been one of Sunday's top stack recommendations, as they'll face Eagles righty Dae Kyung Yun, a swingman who's struggled to a 10.03 ERA over his last three starts. Shin Soo Choo ($6,300) will get the platoon advantage against him and could be well worth paying up for given his recent struggles. The 38-year-old hasn't been the dominant force that you might expect a player with 1,671 MLB hits to be at the KBO level, but his .255/.406/.457 slash line is far from poor. He's been better than that over his last 32 games, slashing .301/.421/.524.
Sung Bum Na ($5,300) has also been perhaps a bit below expectations, but he's been nothing close to bad. His .880 OPS might be his lowest mark since his rookie season back in 2013, but it's still good for 14th among qualified hitters. He sits sixth in the league with 17 homers and seventh with 53 RBI. Four of those homers have come in his last six games, though his recent hot streak stretches back over his last 10, as he owns a 1.029 OPS over that stretch. He doesn't have the easiest of matchups Sunday against Heroes righty Woo Jin An, but it's a tough day of pitching in general, so Na is worth consideration given that he'll get the platoon advantage and is back to hitting like the top-tier slugger he's supposed to be.
Bargain Bats
Lions lefty Jung Hyun Baek may have a 2.68 ERA on the season, but I'm very interested in the Giants' righties nonetheless at hitter-friendly Daegu Samsung Lions Park, as Baek's ERA isn't close to supported by his poor combination of a 13.2 percent strikeout rate and 11.5 percent walk rate. The Giants offer a number of rather interchangeable good but not elite bats, with Chi Hong An ($3,500) standing as one of the more affordable options in that group. Four of his teammates cost more than he does, but he sits third among the team's regulars with an .867 OPS, the product of a .325/.386/.481 slash line. He's been particularly strong in 10 games since returning from a knee injury, recording a 1.125 OPS over that stretch.
Grabbing some Lions on the opposite side of that same contest seems like a wise idea given the venue, especially since Dan Straily hasn't been the intimidating presence he was last year. In six starts since the beginning of June, he owns a 6.12 ERA and 1.55 WHIP. Won Seok Lee ($3,500) remains the best way to get a piece of the Lions' lineup for a low price and offers an affordable option at a fairly thin position (third base). His .711 OPS on the road wouldn't necessarily justify even his inexpensive price tag, but his .829 OPS at home is far stronger. That hain is attributable primarily to his slugging percentage, which sits at just .363 on the road but .456 at home.
Stacks to Consider
Twins vs. Young Ha Lee: Hyun Soo Kim ($4,600), Chang Ki Hong ($4,500), Eun Seong Chae ($4,400)
The cancellations the past few days mean that Sunday's slate is full of solid starters, but Lee stands on his own at the bottom of the pack as a clear exception. After struggling to a 5.52 ERA and 1.77 WHIP in 19 starts last season, he moved to the bullpen and cruised to a 1.04 ERA and 1.00 WHIP in 23 relief appearances. The Bears moved him back to the rotation this year in hopes that he'd maintain some of those improvements, but a move back to the pen could be coming soon. He hasn't been close to good enough through seven starts, posting an awful 9.82 ERA and 2.18 WHIP. Those numbers come with a similarly terrible combination of a 9.7 percent strikeout rate and 14.9 percent walk rate, so there's little reason to believe things will turn around soon.
The stack listed here features three mid-priced outfielders. Kim earns a spot despite the fact that he's gone hitless in five straight games, as there's no better way to break out of a slump than by getting the platoon advantage against a starter with an ERA north of 9.00. It's not often that you'll see a player with a career OPS of .896 this affordable, and that lengthy track record should outweigh a poor five-game stretch. Hong will also get the platoon advantage against Lee and has remained one of the league's best leadoff men throughout the season. He's currently riding a 16-game hitting streak, slashing .452/.547/.565 over that stretch. Chae won't get the platoon advantage, but he's been too hot lately to ignore. He's homered five times and driven in 18 runs over his last 14 games, hitting .385/.426/.712 over that stretch while striking out just four times.
Wiz vs. Eui Lee Lee: Baek Ho Kang ($5,700), Jae Gyun Hwang ($5,200), Sung Woo Jang ($4,700)
Every pitcher on this slate except Young Ha Lee has at least something that makes them interesting, so we'll turn to the league's second-ranked offense against a pitcher who's been fairly inconsistent for our second stack recommendation here. Eui Lee Lee comes with plenty of promise, as a 4.18 ERA is a very respectable mark for a 19-year-old rookie, while his 25.1 percent strikeout rate is strong regardless of age. He doesn't have particularly good control at this stage of his career, however, walking 13.1 percent of opposing batters, and that's led to a handful of poor starts. He didn't give up more than three earned runs in any of his first six starts, but he's since allowed four or more in four of his last seven outings, posting a 4.66 ERA over that stretch. The Wiz got to see him as recently as late June and scored four runs in five frames, and a similar result could be coming Sunday.
Prioritizing the Wiz's right-handed bats makes sense against the young lefty, but it's hard to recommend a Wiz stack without including Kang. Kang does have a platoon split, but it's not as though his .395/.490/.556 line against lefties this season is anything close to disappointing, so I'd be very comfortable selecting him here. Hwang will get the platoon advantage against Lee and is in the middle of an excellent run which has seen him record seven multi-hit games in his last nine. He's hit .395 with three homers, 12 runs and 14 RBI over that stretch. Jang is a tier below the league's best backstops, but his .756 OPS on the season is very respectable for the position. He's been particularly hot thus far in July, homering three times in six games while hitting .400.
