KBO DFS: Thursday Cheat Sheet

Despite rain in the forecast for every non-dome game Wednesday, we got to see nearly a full slate of KBO action, with only the Giants and Wyverns getting their game canceled. The Twins won a tight 6-4 victory over the Tigers, with the Twins' top four hitters combining to reach base 11 times and hit a pair of homers. The Heroes got a bounceback start from Won Tae Choi, who allowed just two earned runs in seven innings, while Ha Seong Kim homered and drove in five runs in their 12-3 victory over the Wiz. Elsewhere, Jae Hak Lee threw five scoreless innings, but the Dinos' bullpen was blown up in a seven-run sixth inning as the Eagles pulled off an 8-5 upset. Ju Suk Ha led the way for the Eagles, going 3-for-4 with a homer. In the final game of the day, the Lions and Bears played to a 2-2 tie, with Hui Kwan Yu somehow escaping with just one earned run in six innings despite allowing 10 hits and three walks while striking out just two. 

Rain remains something of a factor ahead of Thursday's contests, with the Twins-Tigers and Dinos-Eagles games appearing threatened as of writing. The slate as a whole is much deeper in top-end pitching than the previous two have been thus far this week.

Pitchers

There are quite a few top-tier starters throwing Thursday, so there's no obligation to pay up for Dan Straily ($10,000), though he's likely to reward those who do. He's been elite all season, posting a 1.95 ERA and a 0.95 WHIP, both of which are the second-best marks in the league. He's also second-best among qualified starters with a 27.0 percent strikeout rate. Even those numbers understate his recent performance, as he owns a 0.79 ERA and a 0.74 WHIP over his last five outings. He's unlikely to suddenly go cold against the Wyverns, who have scored a total of two runs across their last four games.

Drew Rucinski ($8,900) hasn't been quite as dominant as Straily, but he's been undeniably an ace and gets arguably an even easier matchup against the last-ranked Eagles lineup. Over the course of the year, Rucinski ranks fourth in ERA (2.36), sixth in WHIP (1.15), and sixth in strikeout rate (22.4 percent). He'd allowed just three earned runs over a five-start stretch before getting knocked around by the Bears to the tune of five runs in five innings his last time out in arguably his worst outing of the year.

Among the day's cheaper options, Shi Hwan Jang ($7,200) makes for an interesting high-risk, high-reward play for deeper contests. Most of the risk comes from the fact that he's facing the league-leading Dinos' offense, though plenty of it comes from Jang himself, as his 4.54 ERA and 1.57 WHIP are hardly inspiring marks. He's been quite good in the majority of his recent starts, however, allowing two or fewer runs in seven of his last eight outings, posting a 2.76 ERA and a 1.16 WHIP over that stretch. He has quite a lot of strikeout upside, as his 24.6 percent strikeout rate ranks third among qualified starters, though his 12.0 percent walk rate is the worst mark among that same group.

Top Targets

It's arguable which section Jin Hyuk No ($4,100) fits into, as he isn't cheap but is still cheaper than six other players at a fairly deep shortstop position. He'll get the platoon advantage against Shi Hwan Jang, who earned a recommendation above but only a risky, cheap option and who shouldn't scare you away from the Dinos if you aren't selecting him yourself. No has been a decent hitter or the past two seasons, but he's in the middle of a breakout campaign this season, hitting .284/.358/.516 with 12 homers, already just one shy of his career high. Three of those have come in his last five games, a stretch in which he owns a 1.694 OPS.

Ja Wook Koo ($4,600) continues to carry the Lions' offense while the team waits for Daniel Palka to complete his two-week quarantine. He's done quite a capable job, hitting .395/.473/.481 over his last 20 games. He's homered just once over that stretch and just seven times over the course of the season, but his overall .345/.418/.522 season slash line is strong in every other respect, and he's also added 10 steals. He'll get the platoon advantage against Bears righty Won Joon Choi, whose solid 4.25 ERA this season has come primarily in relief.

Bargain Bats

Sticking with the Lions, Min Ho Kang ($3,600) again looks like the best cheaper catcher on the slate. He was quite poor early in the season, hitting just .200/.244/.412 through his first 33 games before landing on the injured list with side soreness. Since his return, he's been one of the best hitters in the league at any position, let alone catcher, as he's hit .369/.442/.655 over 26 games. The offensive explosion shouldn't be too big of a surprise for the 34-year-old, who has one season with an OPS over 1.000 and six more with an OPS over .800 on his resume.

The Bears face a somewhat difficult matchup against Ben Lively, though he hasn't been at his best on either side of a nearly two-month absence due to a side injury, posting a 4.50 ERA over seven strats. While he may be enough to make you avoid the Bears' more expensive hitters, Jae Il Oh ($3,800) remains a very affordable option at first base and is quite cheap for a player who bats third in the league's second-best lineup. While he may not have quite the power upside of some of the game's top first basemen, hitting just eight homers, there's little reason to complain about his .347/.401/.527 overall slash line. He's currently riding an eight-game hitting streak.

Stacks To Consider

Giants vs. Joo Han Kim: Ah Seop Son ($4,500), Jun Woo Jeon ($4,800), Dae Ho Lee ($4,800)

Kim stands out as the clear weak link among a very strong group of starting pitchers, making the Giants a worthy stack option despite ranking seventh overall in scoring. They've swung the bat well in recent games, however, scoring at least seven runs in three straight contests, and the opportunity to face a pitcher who owns a 7.61 ERA and a 1.90 WHIP this season should help them keep that run going. Those numbers have come in just 23.2 innings for Kim, but they appear to be well-earned, as he's combined an awful 6.0 percent strikeout rate with a 10.3 percent walk rate.

Son had been scheduled to receive a day off before Wednesday's game was rained out, so it's possible he's out of the lineup for this one, but if he starts, he'll likely be the only lefty to hit anywhere near the top of the Giants' order. He's been a reliable option all season, hitting .353/.425/.480 while demonstrating excellent control of the zone with a 37:32 BB:K. He's been particularly hard to get out lately, as he's riding an eight-game hitting streak in which he's hitting .419. His excellent contact ability and eye keep him valuable despite the fact that he has just four homers and three steals.

Jeon typically follows Son out of the third spot. The veteran is having a solid season, hitting .289/.352/.498 with a team-leading 14 homers. Four of those homers have come in his last 14 contests, a stretch in which he's hitting .352/.444/.648 with 15 homers. Jeon had a 33-homer season back in 2018, and he's on pace to threaten 30 again this year even with the league-wide home-run rate down from where it was that season.

Lee cleans up for the Giants and should have multiple opportunities to knock in Son and Jeon in this one. The 38-year-old is one of the best power hitters in KBO history, ranking eighth all time with 323 homers despite spending five seasons in Japan and the United States. His power isn't what it once was, but he's bouncing back from a 16-homer campaign last season to his 11 already this year, a number that pairs nicely with his .307/.395/.498 slash line to make him a solid second-tier option at first base. 

Wiz vs. Hyun Hee Han: Mel Rojas Jr. ($6,500), Baek Ho Kang ($5,500), Jae Gyun Hwang ($5,200)

It hasn't been at all clear which version of Han will show up to a game lately. After allowing 17 runs while recording just 11 outs over a two-start stretch in late June and early July, he rebounded to allow just one run in 6.2 innings in his next outing. He struggled again his next time out, giving up five runs in 6.2 frames, before allowing just two over five innings in his most recent appearance. It's certainly possible that the Wiz face the good version of Han on Thursday, but the bad has outweighed the good for him overall this year, as he owns a 6.14 ERA and a 1.55 WHIP.

Rojas remains the most expensive hitter on the slate and remains probably underpriced. He's been so good for so long this season that almost nothing counts as a hot streak, though his .471/.549/.929 slash line over his last 19 games is somehow considerably better than his .394/.457/.761 season-long marks. He's the unquestioned MVP favorite, leading in all three Triple Crown categories with his .394 average, 26 homers and 68 RBI, though he's locked into a tie with Hyun Soo Kim in the latter statistic.

Kang has been a capable right-hand man for Rojas throughout the season, hitting .303/.387/.529. His .916 OPS is an exact mark for his number from his sophomore season last year, though that's perhaps a minor disappointment given that league-wide offense has risen. That number is suppressed by a 12-game stretch from July 10 to July 26 in which he struggled to a .518 OPS, but he's bounced back with at least one hit in each of his last five games.

Hwang rounds out this rather expensive stack, though the Wiz's lineup contains a handful of playable, cheaper alternatives for those with budget issues. Hwang has been key to his team's turnaround this season, helping the Wiz charge into a share for the fifth and final playoff spot. He struggled to a .256/.287/.372 slash line over his first 32 games, but he's been an entirely different hitter over his last 31 contests, hitting .359/.420/.625.