This article is part of our DraftKings KBO series.
Sunday's KBO slate kicks off bright and early at 1:00 a.m. ET. We'll have a full, five-game slate, with little reason to doubt that it will remain that way, as rain doesn't appear to be a factor anywhere as of writing. Expect plenty of scoring, as this set of pitchers is perhaps the weakest we've seen all season.
Pitchers
Ryan Carpenter ($9,900) isn't exactly reliable, but he still stands out as the clear top option on the slate. He allowed five or more earned runs in three of his five September starts, but he also allowed just one earned run in both of the other two. Two of his last three starts have been good ones, and he should make it three out of four here against the last-ranked Tigers lineup. While consistency has been a problem for the lefty throughout the year, the good has mostly outweighed the bad. His 3.88 ERA is quite solid and is backed by a 24.8 percent strikeout rate, the third-best mark among qualified starters.
Hyeong Jun So ($9,100) has been just as inconsistent as Carpenter of late but still stands out as one of a small number of playable options Sunday. In his last six starts, he's either given up at least five runs or no more than one, though that averages out to a very respectable 3.62 ERA and 1.24 WHIP over that stretch. That's much better than his season-long numbers, as he owns a 4.52 ERA and 1.52 WHIP for the year. The 2020 Rookie of the Year could certainly ruin your team if the bad version of him shows up again here, as it could certainly do against the third-ranked Landers lineup, but he at least possesses the upside that the names beneath him lack.
It's almost impossible to find a reason to recommend any other starter on this slate, but you could at least make the case for Seung Hyuk Han ($8,400). Han would have no business carrying a price tag anywhere this level on most slates, but he does seem to be priced accurately compared to the rest of the available options. Most of his appeal comes from the fact that he'll face the ninth-ranked Eagles offense, though that unfortunately means you won't want to select him alongside the aforementioned Carpenter. The rest of his appeal comes from the fact that he's at least looked respectable in three starts and three relief appearances this season, posting a 4.24 ERA while striking out 21.1 percent of opposing batters and walking just 7.0 percent. Still, don't consider this anything more than the mildest of possible endorsements, as Han owns a career 5.99 ERA over parts of eight KBO campaigns.
Top Targets
I'm going to skip the stack section in this article, as I'd wholeheartedly endorse stacking against all seven starters whom I didn't mention above. Very little separates a group in which all seven pitchers have ERAs of 5.35 or worse (with six of the seven coming in north of 6.00). Instead, I'll give an extra name in both this category and the next. All six of these players would form great starting points for a stack but are also worthy of selection on their own.
There's no better place to start than Baek Ho Kang ($5,500), who finds himself cheaper than six other hitters on Saturday's slate. Kang may have slumped throughout late September, but he still owns an excellent .357/.466/.538 season slash line, good for a second-place ranking in OPS. With a hitter as good as he's shown himself to be, I'm happy to jump back in after any hint of him turning things around, and he's done that over his last four games, reaching base a combined 13 times. Expect him to remain hot Sunday, as he'll get the platoon advantage against Lions righty Yeong U Jo, who owns a 6.32 ERA in 52.2 innings as a swingman this season.
Min Ho Kang ($4,900) remains one of the best uses of your catcher slot if you want to avoid the crowd that inevitably surrounds OPS leader Eui Ji Yang. Kang has been the clear second-best hitter at the position throughout the year, as his .870 OPS leads the rest of the pack by at least 63 points. He still has plenty left in the tank in his age-35 season, hitting .307 while clearing the fence 16 times. Kang owns an even better .995 OPS over his last 11 games and should stay hot Sunday against Bears lefty Hui Kwan Yu, whose 79.8 mph fastball has unsurprisingly led him to a 7.2 percent strikeout rate and 6.27 ERA.
On the opposite side of that same contest, plenty of Bears look like strong options against second-year Lions lefty Seung Min Lee, who's reached five innings in just one of his 10 starts this season and owns a 7.79 ERA. You probably don't have to worry much about platoon advantage here given Lee's inability to pitch deep into games, but I'll recommend right-handed outfielder Kun Woo Park ($4,900) nonetheless. Park's modest power means he's a step down from the league's elite bats, but it's hard to complain about his .328/.402/.440 slash line. He's been making consistent contact throughout the season, as his batting average hasn't dipped below .325 since the third game of the year.
Bargain Bats
Geon Chang Seo ($3,600) took a bit of time to get going after he was traded from the Heroes to the Twins over the Olympic break. In his first 32 games for his new team, he hit just .246/.306/.316. He's been a much better hitter over his last 10 contests, however, grabbing at least one hit in all 10 while hitting .385/.415/.538. The Twins kept faith in him even while he struggled, as he's remained locked into the second or third spot in the order. That prime lineup position should mean he'll have plenty of chances to score or drive in runs against Heroes righty Seong Gi Kim, who owns a 6.16 ERA and a 10.2 percent strikeout rate.
Byung Ho Park ($3,500) isn't close to the player he was in the middle of last decade, when he cleared the 50-homer threshold in back-to-back seasons before making the jump to MLB. His strikeout issues are a real problem, as his 27.8 percent strikeout rate is the worst mark among qualified hitters. He still has plenty of power, however, so he's worth consideration as a budget first baseman whenever he seems to be in a groove at the plate, as he is now. He's riding a 12-game hitting streak, slashing .364/.378/.614 with three home runs over that stretch. The veteran slugger is well-positioned to stay hot Sunday, as he'll get the platoon advantage against Twins lefty Ju Young Son, who owns an 8.39 ERA and 1.86 WHIP in 24.2 innings this season.
Any of the Giants' largely interchangeable above-average bats look like strong choices against Dinos starter Myung Gi Song, who now owns a 6.38 ERA after giving up six or more runs in three of his last four starts. Dong Hui Han ($3,900) is the cheapest of that group, so he's the one to earn the spot here. His .264/.372/.440 slash line looks like it belongs to a more expensive player, especially since he serves as an option at both second and third base, two of the shallower positions in the league. Han has been particularly hot over his last 12 games, homering twice while recording a 1.046 OPS.
