This article is part of our Dream11 Fantasy KBO series.
Hanwha Eagles (6-9) at NC Dinos (12-2)
Friday, May 22, 5:30 AM EDT
Projected Starters
RHP Warwick Saupold (1-1, 1.64 ERA) vs LHP Kim Young-gyu (0-0, 3.27 ERA)
Game Preview
Friday's matchup sees the eighth-place Eagles travel to meet the league-leading Dinos. The Dinos have combined the league's best pitching with the league's third-best offense to open up an early three-game lead. Meanwhile, the Eagles are tied for second-best in runs allowed but have also scored the second-fewest. The Eagles will send their ace Warwick Saupold to the mound in the first game of this three-game series. After recording a strong 3.51 ERA in his first season in Korea, he's gotten off to an even better start this year, posting a 1.64 ERA and a 0.82 WHIP through his first three starts, though he's only struck out 11 batters in 22 innings. Taking the hill for the home side will be 20-year-old lefty Kim Young-gyu. He's had a solid first two starts this season, posting a 3.27 ERA and a 1.09 WHIP while striking out nine batters and walking none. In 10 starts and 20 relief appearances as a rookie last season, however, he didn't look nearly as good, recording a 5.29 ERA and a 1.70 WHIP.
Injuries
Chad Bell, Eagles - Day-To-Day - Elbow
May 21 - Bell (elbow) tossed two shutout innings Thursday in a rehab outing with the Eagles' Futures League affiliate, Jeeho Yoo of Yonhap News Agency reports. He gave up one hit and one
Hanwha Eagles (6-9) at NC Dinos (12-2)
Friday, May 22, 5:30 AM EDT
Projected Starters
RHP Warwick Saupold (1-1, 1.64 ERA) vs LHP Kim Young-gyu (0-0, 3.27 ERA)
Game Preview
Friday's matchup sees the eighth-place Eagles travel to meet the league-leading Dinos. The Dinos have combined the league's best pitching with the league's third-best offense to open up an early three-game lead. Meanwhile, the Eagles are tied for second-best in runs allowed but have also scored the second-fewest. The Eagles will send their ace Warwick Saupold to the mound in the first game of this three-game series. After recording a strong 3.51 ERA in his first season in Korea, he's gotten off to an even better start this year, posting a 1.64 ERA and a 0.82 WHIP through his first three starts, though he's only struck out 11 batters in 22 innings. Taking the hill for the home side will be 20-year-old lefty Kim Young-gyu. He's had a solid first two starts this season, posting a 3.27 ERA and a 1.09 WHIP while striking out nine batters and walking none. In 10 starts and 20 relief appearances as a rookie last season, however, he didn't look nearly as good, recording a 5.29 ERA and a 1.70 WHIP.
Injuries
Chad Bell, Eagles - Day-To-Day - Elbow
May 21 - Bell (elbow) tossed two shutout innings Thursday in a rehab outing with the Eagles' Futures League affiliate, Jeeho Yoo of Yonhap News Agency reports. He gave up one hit and one walk and struck out two in the 43-pitch start. Bell's season debut with Hanwha has been delayed after he experienced elbow pain shortly before Opening Day, but he looks to be nearly 100 percent healthy now. Though he threw only 24 of his 43 pitches for strikes in the rehab outing, Bell is expected to rejoin the Eagles' active roster as soon as Friday, assuming he came out of the Futures League appearance with no renewed discomfort. He'll likely be added back into the rotation at some point next week, providing a big lift to the pitching staff after he posted a 3.50 ERA over 177.1 innings for Hanwha in 2019.
Ha Ju-seok, Eagles - 10-Day IL - Thigh
May 18 - Hanwha announced Monday that Ha will be sidelined for four weeks with right thigh muscle pain, Young-rock Kim of The Chosun Ilbo reports. The club also announced that Oh Sun-jin would require about four weeks of rehab after he and Ha were both diagnosed with thigh injuries following Sunday's 5-4 win over the Giants. Ha's loss is a significant one for the Eagles, as he slashed .333/.349/.405 with seven RBI through 12 games. With Oh's injury further thinning the Eagles' depth in the infield, Noh Si-hwan looks to be the next man up to slot in as the club's everyday shortstop.
Jeong Woo-ram, Eagles - Day-To-Day - Back
May 17 - Jeong was withheld from Sunday's 5-4 win over the Giants in 11 innings due to back pain, Jae-Gun Jeong of The Chosun Ilbo reports. Jeong's back issue apparently first surfaced on Thursday, when he closed out the Eagles' win over the Tigers. Though he proceeded to record a save the next day in the series opener against Lotte, Jeong experienced renewed issues with his back while warming up Sunday and was ultimately held out of action. Instead, Kim Jin-young was called on for the save opportunity in the top of the ninth, though he failed to protect the lead. Consider Jeong day-to-day heading into Tuesday's series opener versus the Wiz.
Kim Tae-kyun, Eagles- Out - Not Injury Related
May 20 - Kim was removed from Hanwha's first-team entry Wednesday, according to chosun.com. Kim is off to a dreadful start this year, hitting just .103 (3-for-29) through 11 games, so he will spend some time with Hanwha's second team in hopes that gets him back on track.
Oh Sun-jin, Eagles - 10-Day IL - Thigh
May 18 - Hanwha announced Monday that Oh would be sidelined for four weeks due to a right thigh injury, Young-rock Kim of The Chosun Ilbo reports. Oh's absence from the lineup in Sunday's 5-4 win over the Giants was believed to be a routine off day, but the Eagles were apparently evaluating him for an injury that he picked up the previous day. Doctors determined Oh was dealing with damage to the medial muscle of his right thigh, an injury that will keep him on the shelf through at least mid-June. Teammate Ha Ju-seok picked up the same injury in Sunday's game and will also be sidelined for at least four weeks, leaving the Eagles supremely thin in the infield. Oh has been the Eagles' top hitter so far during the young season, slashing .346/.357/.538 with a home run and five RBI over his 28 plate appearances.
Mo Chang-min, Dinos - 10-Day IL - Shoulder
May 12 - Mo will miss the next two weeks as a result of his shoulder injury, KBO Analyst Jin-Hyeok Jang reports. Mo sat out NC's last game Sunday after injuring his shoulder in the club's previous game Friday, and it turns out he will miss extended time beyond that. Won Jae Lee, as well as another player or two, should see more action in Mo's absence.
Park Suk-min - Day-To-Day - Back
May 21 - Park (back) entered Thursday's 12-6 win over the Bears in the ninth inning and produced a pinch-hit single. Park received the day off after leaving Wednesday's win with a back issue, but the Dinos' decision to use him off the bench in the series finale a day later implies that the injury isn't a major concern for the 34-year-old. He could be back in the lineup for Friday's series opener versus Hanwha.
Eagles Expected Lineup
1. Jung Jin-ho
2. Jung Eun-won
3. Jared Hoying
4. Lee Sung-yul
5. Kim Moon-ho
6. Song Kwang-min
7. Choi Jae-hoon
8. Noh Si-hwan
9. Lee Yong-kyu
Dinos Expected Lineup
P Kim Young-gyu
1. Park Min-woo
3. Na Sung-bum
4. Yang Eui-ji
5. Park Suk-min
6. No Jin-hyuk
7. Kang Jin-seong
8. Lee Myung-gi
9. Kwon Hee-dong
Top Picks
Kim Young-gyu, Dinos: In a strength-versus-strength matchup, there's certainly a case for believing that Warwick Saupold can shut down a very good Dinos lineup. Saupold doesn't offer much strikeout upside even if he does keep runs off the board, though, so it seems worth it to save five credits and go with the weaker pitcher who faces the much weaker lineup. Kim also gets a boost from the fact that most of the Eagles' best hitters bat left-handed.
Kim Moon-ho, Eagles: Selecting Kim Young-gyu as our pitcher means we'll want to spend most of our budget on the most expensive Dinos hitters. Cheap options like Kim will help fill the mandatory three spots from the Eagles side of the ball. He unfortunately bats left-handed, a problem against the lefty Kim, but he's been on a roll in his tiny five-game sample this season, going 7-for-16 at the plate.
Na Sung-bum, Dinos: If you're siding with the Dinos but aren't confident in Kim as captain, Na makes for a strong alternative. While he faces a tough pitcher in Saupold, he'll at least get the platoon advantage as a left-handed hitter. His four home runs lead the team, while his ability to take a walk has helped him score a team-leading 13 runs.
Aaron Altherr, Dinos: Altherr makes a strong alternative to Na if you'd prefer a hitter leading your lineup. He struggled in his first few games in the KBO, partially due to a nagging hand issue, but he's picked things up over his last four games, going 6-for-19 with a pair of homers and five RBI.
Captaincy Options
1. Kim Young-gyu
2. Na Sung-bum
Dream11 Team
P Kim Young-Gyu (C)
C Yang Eui-ji
IF No Jin-hyuk
IF Park Min-woo
IF Noh Si-hwan
OF Na Sung-bum (VC)
OF Jared Hoying
OF Kim Moon-ho
