This article is part of our DraftKings KBO series.
Tuesday's KBO slate was shortened to three games by rain, just two of which were decisive. Andrew Suarez struck out eight while allowing just one run in five innings of work, but a two-run double in the bottom of the ninth by Jared Hoying secured a 5-5 tie for the first-place Wiz against the second-place Twins. Elsewhere, Enderson Franco and Won Tae Choi battled in a tight pitchers' duel, with Franco's seven scoreless innings beating Choi's six-inning, one-run performances as the Giants earned a 1-0 victory. In the third and final game, Nick Kingham and Mike Montgomery both tossed quality starts, but Kingham was slightly better as his Eagles emerged 4-2 victors.
Wednesday's slate could be threatened by rain again, with the Heroes-Giants contest in Busan looking most threatened as of writing, though none looks close to a guaranteed cancellation. The set of games features a few strong pitchers at the top alongside a large group of untrustworthy arms.
Pitchers
Drew Rucinski ($8,800) is the most reliable starter on Wednesday's slate and comes with a rather reasonable price tag. That reliability doesn't come from merely within this season but instead across his three seasons in Korea. By ERA, he's been basically the same guy all three years, posting a 3.05 ERA in both of his first two seasons and a 3.07 mark this year. His underlying numbers have changed over those three years, however, as seen particularly in his strikeout rate, which jumped from a sub-par 16.3 percent in 2019 all the way up to 21.7 percent last year and now 22.5 percent this season. That gives him a high ceiling against the sixth-ranked Landers lineup here.
Odrisamer Despaigne ($8,600) is coming off his worst start of the year, having allowed six runs in 3.1 innings last week against the Lions without striking out a single batter. That doesn't reflect who he's been for most of this season, however, so I'd be perfectly comfortable with him in my lineup against the eighth-ranked Twins offense. For most of the year, he's been excellent, cruising to a 2.89 ERA that he's backed with a 24.0 percent strikeout rate. Those numbers are far better than the 4.33 ERA and 16.4 percent strikeout rate he produced last season, so another outing or two like his last one could be cause for concern, but I'm willing to give him a pass for one bad start.
The bottom of the pitcher pool is tough to trust on this slate, so I'll recommend another mid-priced option here in Min Woo Kim ($8,400). The 26-year-old was one of the closest things the Eagles had to a bright spot last season, and while his 4.34 ERA was still nothing special, it at least came with a strong 20.9 percent strikeout rate. He's increased that strikeout rate by a hair to 21.3 percent this season while trimming his walk rate from 12.1 percent to 11.3 percent, helping him to a 4.03 ERA. The above-average number of whiffs makes this a decent enough package for fantasy purposes, especially against a Lions lineup that ranks seventh in scoring even while playing half its games in the league's most hitter-friendly park, a venue they won't be playing in here.
Top Targets
Baek Ho Kang ($6,400) is very expensive on this slate, but it's worth trying to build a lineup around him given that his price tag could lead to lower ownership rates than usual. He's been so good that it's hard to argue his price tag is too high. After grabbing at least one hit in all seven games thus far in the second half, he's dragged his batting average back up to a ridiculous .400, and the 22-year-old's incredible talent means it's not impossible to imagine him finishing the year at that mark. He's gone hitless just once in his last 22 games, a stretch in which he owns a .412/.574/.691 slash line. Kang will get the platoon advantage Wednesday against Twins righty Min Ho Lee, who owns a mediocre 4.55 ERA.
Sung Bum Na ($5,300) is one of the best hitters in the league when he's on his game, so he could be a steal at this fairly affordable price. His numbers this year count as something of a disappointment, as his OPS has dropped over 100 points from where it finished last year, though few batters in the league would be genuinely disappointed to share his .288/.358/.525 slash line. He homered four times in his last six games before the break and has already homered twice in six games since returning to play, giving him 19 for the year, just two shy of the league lead. He could add to that tally Wednesday, as he'll get the platoon advantage against Landers righty Min Jun Choi, who owns a 5.05 ERA and 1.77 WHIP.
Bargain Bats
Hyoung Woo Choi ($3,400) will keep earning frequent mentions here until his price rises to meet his talent. The 37-year-old was one of the best hitters in the entire league last season, winning the batting title while slashing .354/.438/.590. You'd expect a fair amount of regression given his age, but he shouldn't wind up anywhere near his current .218/.380/.364 slash line. The eye issue he battled early in the season appears to be the cause of most of his struggles, with his .232 BABIP pitching in as well. He looks healthy now, however, hitting .342/.468/.553 over his last 11 games on either side of the break. He should stay hot here against Been Gwak, whose respectable 4.33 ERA comes with a poor 1.73 WHIP.
Ah Seop Son ($3,900) is always worth a look whenever the Giants face an unimpressive righty, and that certainly describes Dong Hyeok Kim, whose 3.48 ERA comes with a 16:15 K:BB. Son had an excellent season last year, narrowly losing the batting title to the aforementioned Choi while hitting .352, marking the 11th straight season he'd finished with a batting average of .295 or better. That run looked like it was coming to an end this season, as he hit just .257 through his first 41 games, but he's turned things around dramatically since late May. Over his last 38 games, he's hit .368/.442/.465.
Stacks to Consider
Bears vs. Yu Sin Kim: Kun Woo Park ($4,900), Kyoung Min Hur ($4,900), Suk Hwan Yang ($4,700)
Kim was the sixth-overall pick back in 2018 but has shown little potential thus far in his KBO career. He allowed 14 runs in 13 innings of work in his debut back in 2018 before leaving for two years of mandatory military service. In 10 starts and four relief appearances this season, he's been nowhere near good enough. His 7.95 ERA looks well-deserved, as it comes with a 1.87 WHIP and a 27 K:BB. This game may be taking place in the league's most pitcher-friendly park, but Kim needs more help than he'll be able to get from park factors alone.
We'll stack the Bears' top righties against the young southpaw here. Park's .825 OPS this season marks the seventh straight year in which he's posted an OPS north of .800. He's homered just twice this season but has made up for it by hitting .331 with 17 doubles in 64 games. Hur is one of the best contact hitters in the entire league. He's a career .297 hitter who's recorded a single-digit strikeout rate in all but one of his 10 KBO campaigns. Yang doesn't have nearly the same resume as his aforementioned teammates, topping out at a .759 OPS prior to this season, but he's seemingly breaking out in his age-29 campaign following an offseason trade from the Twins. All three elements of his .286/.345/.525 slash line represent career highs, while he needs just three homers the rest of the way to match his previous career high of 22.
Heroes vs. Yeong Hwan Choi: Dong Won Park ($4,700), Yong Kyu Lee ($3,300), Byung Ho Park ($2,800)
Choi was the second-overall pick back in 2014 but showed next to nothing prior to this season. Through the end of last year, he'd thrown just 95.2 innings at the KBO level while struggling to a 6.77 ERA. If you just look at his 3.16 ERA in 25.2 innings as a swingman this season, his problems appear to be solved, but a deeper look tells a very different story. It's taken a .274 BABIP to get him to that level, and he's striking out just 15.0 percent of opposing batters while walking 14.0 percent. He may have helped the Dinos to just one run in five innings his last time out, but even that performance came with a 1:1 K:BB, so he's unlikely to give the Heroes much trouble here.
The stack listed here skips Jung Hoo Lee due to injury concerns, though he's certainly a worthy inclusion if he makes it back from what appears to be a fairly minor side issue. Dong Won Park remains one of the best uses of your catcher position if you want to avoid the crowd selecting Eui Ji Yang. His .876 OPS ranks second third at the position, while he ranks second in homers (16), runs (39) and RBI (50). Lee has settled into the leadoff role and appears to be enjoying his time with the Heroes after spending several years as a rather lonely figure atop the Eagles' lineup. His 51 runs scored this season are already just nine fewer than the 60 he finished with last season despite the fact that he's played in 38 fewer games. Byung Ho Park has been somewhat detached from the aforementioned names in the sixth spot in the order, but his value is so high that he had to be mentioned here. He has significant strikeout issues, whiffing 26.4 percent of the time, but he still has a fair amount of power, hitting 12 homers in 65 games, including two in his last four contests.
