This article is part of our DraftKings KBO series.
Baseball returned to Korea on Tuesday after an extended Olympic break, though the bats were mostly still on vacation. The eight active teams averaged just 2.5 runs apiece, with no team scoring more than five. (The Bears and Lions were rained out.) Excellent pitching wasn't hard to find, with Dan Straily and Casey Kelly both picking up wins after tossing seven shutout innings. There were very few offensive performances of note, with only three homers on the day, none of which came as part of a multi-hit game. Hyoung Woo Choi arguably had the best showing on the offensive side, going 2-for-3 with a run and a pair of walks in the Tigers' 4-1 victory over the Eagles.
We should hopefully get a rain-free slate Wednesday, and it could be another low-scoring one, though teams have at least largely moved from their aces to their number two starters.
Pitchers
Andrew Suarez ($9,000) is easily the most trustworthy expensive option on Wednesday's slate. He's been very impressive in his first season overseas and has filled up the leaderboard, ranking sixth among qualified starters in ERA (2.56), sixth in WHIP (1.19) and fifth in strikeout rate (24.7 percent). His 8.9 percent walk rate also comfortably beats the league's 11.1 percent mark. While he did end the first half on a slightly down now, posting a 5.40 ERA across his final three outings, he's been remarkably consistent throughout the year, allowing more than three earned runs in just one of his 15 starts. He faces a decent Landers lineup that sits sixth in scoring Wednesday but will do so at the league's most pitcher-friendly park, Jamsil Baseball Stadium.
Mike Montgomery ($8,000) has seen his price tag rise by $600 compared to what it would have been against the same Bears lineup Tuesday, but he remains a strong mid-tier option nonetheless after having his outing delayed a day by rain. He only had time to make a single start for his new team before the Olympic break, but he flashed his potential by striking out six over three scoreless, hitless innings. The break should give him the chance to build up to a typical starter's workload, and he could well be one of the top pitchers in the league once he's fully unleashed. Few KBO starters can come anywhere close to his 541 MLB innings, and few have an ERA anywhere near his 3.84 career mark at the highest level. That's enough of a resume to keep him interesting even against a solid lineup in the league's most hitter-friendly park.
Among the day's cheaper options, Nick Kingham ($7,300) looks like the best bet. His primary appeal comes from the fact that he's facing a toothless Tigers team that sits second-last in scoring, though he's more than interesting enough on his own to be worth a look at this low of a price against most lineups. He made just two starts in his first season overseas with the Wyverns last year before being shut down with elbow troubles, but he's been quite effective in 11 outings as an Eagle this year. His 3.61 ERA looks well-deserved, as it comes with a strong combination of a 20.3 percent strikeout rate and 8.0 percent walk rate.
Top Targets
The Korean national team finished a disappointing fourth out of six at the Olympics, though 22-year-old Baek Ho Kang ($5,400) largely held up his end of the bargain, hitting .308. There's a case to be made that even that strong figure counts as a big disappointment, as it comes in a full 88 points below his KBO-leading .396 mark. Kang has steadily gotten better in each of his four years in the league, with his OPS jumping from .880 to .916 to .964 and now finally an incredible 1.081. A .443 BABIP is sure to fall in the second half and take a bite out of his numbers with hisit, but he's finished with a BABIP as high as .392 in the past, so it may not fall as far as you think given his amazing quality of contact. He shouldn't have much trouble producing to his usual standards against Won Tae Choi on Wednesday, who owns a mediocre 4.12 ERA and a poor 1.54 WHIP.
Jun Woo Jeon ($4,300) may be 35 years old, but he's in the middle of one of the best seasons of his 13-year career. In the early part of the season, he was performing right in line with his recent numbers, with his .808 OPS over his first 41 games coming in a bit below his career .827 mark. He closed the first half quite strong, however, slashing .358/.432/.507, and he didn't lose any momentum over the extended break. In his first game back Tuesday, he went 2-for-5 with a double and a pair of RBI. He should stay hot Wednesday against Dinos righty Myung Gi Song, who's struggled to a 6.12 ERA and 1.67 WHIP on the season.
Bargain Bats
Justin Bour ($2,000) has major-league experience and is priced at the minimum. That's more or less all that needs to be said here, as he's clearly the best value on the slate even if he'll be at a platoon disadvantage against Landers lefty Won Seok Oh. He'll likely still be a strong play even once his price tag more than doubles, as his career resume is one of the most impressive in the entire league. Most foreign hitters can't come close to his 1,950 career MLB plate appearances nor his 114 wRC+ at that level. He shouldn't have any trouble adjusting to life overseas, as he spent last year playing for the Hanshin Tigers in Japan, where he slugged 17 homers in 99 games.
The Dinos lineup has been decimated by suspensions, with four regulars getting banned for the rest of the year due to COVID-19 protocol violations. The remainder certainly isn't the fearsome unit that led the Dinos to their first title last season, though anyone who gets to hit in front of the likes of Sung Bum Na, Eui Ji Yang and Aaron Altherr is still in arguably the best lineup spot in the league. In Tuesday's game, the leadoff role went to Ki Hwan Kim ($2,000), who will be a big bargain as a minimum-price player if he occupies that spot again Wednesday. The entirety of his value comes from that lineup spot (so transfer this recommendation to whoever else hits there if the team shakes things up), as he's received just 10 career KBO plate appearances. He does have an encouraging .314/.393/.467 slash line in 43 Futures League games, stealing 23 bases, so there's room for at least a bit of optimism about his ability to stick in the role.
Stacks to Consider
Note: Tuesday's rainout means this first stack will be borrowed directly from yesterday's cheat sheet.
Lions vs. Young Ha Lee: Ja Wook Koo ($5,000), Hae Min Park ($4,600), Jae Il Oh ($4,100)
While most teams have lined up their aces to start the first game of the second half, the Bears have elected to turn to a pitcher with an 9.82 ERA and a 2.18 WHIP. Perhaps the show of confidence will kickstart Lee's season, though he's shown nothing to get excited about thus far. His struggles as a starter trace back to the start of last year, when he posted a 5.52 ERA in 19 starts. He fared much better in 23 relief appearances, cruising to a 1.04 ERA, but he's been worse than ever thus far this year. Nothing in his underlying numbers suggests he's deserved much better results, as he's struck out just 8.7 percent of opposing batters this season while walking 13.4 percent.
With rain no longer looking like a factor in Daegu on Wednesday, the Lions hitters should be safe to stack. I've listed a trio of lefties here, skipping Jose Pirela ($5,700) for budget purposes, but he's certainly worth a look for those who have space. Koo has run hot and cold this season, but his overall .280/.343/.470 line is quite solid. He's one of just two players with double-digit homers (11) and steals (16). Park was one of the top hitters on a disappointing South Korean squad which finished fourth out of six teams at the Olympics, finishing second in the team with 11 hits in 25 at-bats while also walking seven times. Oh was on that same team and didn't fare nearly as well, going just 4-for-19, but he's looked good in KBO action, hitting .276 with 12 homers in 59 games.
Eagles vs. Hyeon Su Kim: Eun Won Jung ($4,600), Jae Hoon Choi ($4,200), Ju Suk Ha ($4,000)
While Lee stood on his own among a group of very strong starters Tuesday, he's joined by a few rather exploitable arms this time around. Kim is the least impressive of those and has been poor enough to justify the very rare Eagles stack. The 21-year-old has thrown just 55.2 career KBO innings across three seasons, starting five games and relieving in 25 more. He hasn't been close to effective, struggling to a 6.95 ERA and 1.99 WHIP while walking more batters (44) than he's struck out (35). Zooming in on just this season doesn't tell any more optimistic of a story, as he owns an 8.47 ERA and 2.06 WHIP across 17 frames. He hasn't been good at the Futures League level this year, either, struggling to a 6.56 ERA.
The Eagles don't have any elite hitters at the moment and are without a foreign bat until Hernan Perez is cleared to join the team, but hitters don't have to be anything special to be good options against a pitcher like Kim. Leadoff man Jung has been the team's best hitter despite the fact that he's managed just four homers. He's shown an incredible eye, with his 18.7 percent walk rate leading all qualified hitters and helping him to a .434 on-base percentage, the fifth-best mark among that same group. Choi follows him out of the second spot of the order, a rare prime lineup position for a catcher. He hasn't been anything special for most of the year but has hit .324 with a pair of homers in his last eight games. Ha, who follows that pair out of the third spot, will join Jung in getting the platoon advantage against Lee and has swung a solid bat for a shortstop, slashing .278/.357/.399.
