This article is part of our KBO Power Rankings series.
It's time for a change. Ever since I started this power rankings, just four weeks into the season, the Dinos have deservedly held onto the top spot. Some weeks they've been the clear favorite, some week's they've been barely ahead of the second-place team, but the early lead they established with their blistering hot start kept them in first place even during their occasional slumps. It's tough to argue that they've truly been the clear best team since that point, however. The Dinos had a 6.5-game lead over the Heroes when those first power rankings were published. They have just a three-game lead now. They've won just three of their last 10 games, while the Heroes have won 10 of their last 12. I would be more afraid to play the Heroes than the Dinos at the moment, so they finally move into the top spot, though their grip on that spot isn't particularly firm. Similarly, there's been movement at the bottom of the rankings, as the Wyverns' recent cold stretch rivalled some of the Eagles' worst stretches of the season, sending them down to 10th.
1. Kiwoom Heroes
Last Week: 2
Record: 48-33
Run Differential: +72
The Lowdown: The Heroes won a pair of series against a pair of playoff contenders in the Wiz and Twins, extending their strong run to 10-2 over their last 12 games and moving them above the Dinos for the first time. With a pair of series against bottom-half teams (the Eagles and Giants) this week, there's a chance they're within striking distance of the Dinos at the top of the standings when the teams meet for a two-game tilt a week from Tuesday.
DFS Name to Know: Ha Seong Kim has done his best to not be overshadowed by the arrival of Addison Russell, hitting .404 with three homers and three steals over his last 11 games.
2. NC Dinos
Last Week: 1
Record: 47-26-2
Run Differential: +107
The Lowdown: An extended stretch of mediocrity sees the Dinos finally give up the top spot, as they haven't won any of their last five series and have gone 3-7 over their last 10 games. While their three-game lead over the Heroes keeps them somewhat safe atop the standings, that's almost entirely the produce of their amazing start. They were 18 games above .500 on June 9 and are just 21 games above .500 now, meaning they've gone a modest 23-20 over their last 43 games.
DFS Name to Know: While many Dinos have been struggling, Sung Bum Na has been as good as ever, hitting .300/.429/.660 with four homers over his last 13 games.
3. Doosan Bears
Last Week: 3
Record: 43-33-2
Run Differential: +35
The Lowdown: The Bears are coming off a poor week in which the went just 1-2-2 against a pair of bottom-half teams in the Lions and Giants, but none of the teams below them had a strong enough week to claim the number three spot. Serious questions about their starting pitching depth remain unanswered, and only the Wyverns and Eagles have allowed more runs per game than they have this season, placing them much closer to the three teams below them than the two teams above.
DFS Name to Know: Raul Alcantara started slow but has been making his case as the league's top starter for quite some time, riding a streak of 11 straight quality starts in which he's posted a 1.82 ERA and a 0.90 WHIP.
4. KT Wiz
Last Week: 4
Record: 39-35-1
Run Differential: +33
The Lowdown: The Wiz didn't have the best week, losing two of three to the Heroes, though there's no shame in that given how the Heroes have been playing lately. While they still sit half a game out of the playoffs through the end of the 15th week of the season, they've been playing like a playoff team for quite some time, going 26-13 over their last 39 games, good for a .667 winning percentage which would rank top in the league if they'd been able to maintain that pace since Opening Day.
DFS Name to Know: Mel Rojas Jr.'s streak of consecutive weeks in which he's posted an OPS over 1.000 has now stretched to 12, and he's hit a ludicrous .442/.547/1.070 with seven homers over his last 12 games.
5. LG Twins
Last Week: 5
Record: 43-35-1
Run Differential: +53
The Lowdown: The Twins went a modest 3-3 this week against a pair of fellow playoff teams, the Tigers and Heroes. While they've gone 12-6 over their last 18 contests, they're just 5-5 against teams other than the Wyverns and Eagles over that stretch, so I'm still hesitant to say they're all the way back.
DFS Name to Know: Tyler Wilson has allowed exactly one earned run in three of his last four starts, posting a 2.35 ERA while striking out a batter per inning over that stretch.
6. Lotte Giants
Last Week: 7
Record: 38-35-1
Run Differential: +14
The Lowdown: The Giants continue to rise after extended their undefeated streak to six following a 3-0-1 week against the Wyverns and Bears. Their next 11 games come against the top three teams in the standings, so this could well be the Giants' high-water mark in these rankings, though they couldn't be entering that tough stretch at a better time, as they've outscored their opponents 40-10 over their last six games.
DFS Name to Know: Dixon Machado's bat appears to be waking up again, as he's hitting .443 over his last 18 games while adding three homers and striking out just six times.
7. Kia Tigers
Last Week: 6
Record: 40-35
Run Differential: +19
The Lowdown: The Tigers fall to the back of a large group of bubble teams after a week in which they went a modest 2-3 against the Twins and Dinos. Five of their next eight games come against those same Twins, against whom they've gone 2-4 this season, so this should be a huge stretch in determining the playoff fortunes for both sides. While this is as low as the Tigers have ever been in these rankings, the gap between them and the third-ranked Bears is very small.
DFS Name to Know: Aaron Brooks has emerged as the clear leader of a deep starting rotation, posting a 1.87 ERA and a 0.97 WHIP over his last 10 starts.
8. Samsung Lions
Last Week: 8
Record: 37-40-1
Run Differential: -7
The Lowdown: The Lions remain comfortable above the bottom two teams in these rankings, but they're also not particularly close to making a serious playoff push. They've gone just 8-16-1 over their last 25 contests, and their offense has really sputtered of late, scoring precisely two runs in four straight games and scoring two or fewer in eight of their last 14 contests.
DFS Name to Know: Min Ho Kang owned a .656 OPS when he landed on the injured list with side soreness in mid-June, but the veteran backstop has hit .380/.457/.674 over the 29 games since his return.
9. Hanwha Eagles
Last Week: 10
Record: 20-56-1
Run Differential: -179
The Lowdown: Rain mercifully limited the Eagles to just three games last week, and despite going just 1-2, they've now climbed out of the last spot in these rankings. That's not to say they're playing particularly well, though a 3-4-1 record over their last eight games counts as a hot streak by their extremely low standards and is enough to lift them above a Wyverns team which has won just one of its last 10 games.
DFS Name to Know: Shi Hwan Jang has tossed 13 scoreless innings over his last two starts, allowing just four hits, part of a nine-start stretch in which he owns a 2.44 ERA and a 1.16 WHIP.
10. SK Wyverns
Last Week: 9
Record: 25-52-1
Run Differential: -147
The Lowdown: This ranking seemed more obviously correct prior to the Wyverns finally winning a game Saturday against the Lions, but I'm keeping them at the bottom given just how poor they'd been over the previous eight games. They lost all eight of those by an average score of 10.5-2.2, scoring a total of just four runs across the last six of those contests. It will take more than just one win against a fellow struggler to move them back up to ninth.
DFS Name to Know: While most Wyverns have been in an extended slump of late, Tae In Chae has been swinging a hot bat, hitting .343/.465/.543 over his last 13 games.
