This article is part of our DraftKings KBO series.
Friday's KBO action saw quite a few offensive explosions, with five teams scoring eight or more runs. The Dinos led the way with 12 runs in their victory over the struggling Twins, with Sung Bum Na grabbing four hits and Aaron Altherr grabbing three, including a two-run homer. The Bears didn't trail far behind, scoring 10 runs in their win against the Giants, with Jae Il Oh and Jae Won Oh both homering. The Heroes' and Tigers' lineups had big days as well, with the Tigers eventually winning 9-8 on Won Joon Choi's 11th-inning walkoff single. Elsewhere, Mel Rojas Jr. and Baek Ho Kang made sure they weren't left out of the fun, as they hit back-to-back homers in the Wiz's 8-3 victory over the Lions. Saturday's slate sees several rather shaky pitchers take the hill, so there's a good chance scoring will remain high.
Pitchers
Aaron Brooks ($9,000 DraftKings, $29 FanDuel as "Kia Starting P") is expensive and faces a tough matchup against a strong Heroes lineup, but he still looks like a strong option. His 2.36 ERA and 1.08 WHIP through his first 11 career starts in Korea are both top-five marks among qualified starters, though both numbers may actually underrate his recent performance. Over his last five starts, he's cruised to a 1.44 ERA and a 0.86 WHIP, striking out 31 batters in 31 innings while walking just seven. He's allowed just two homers all year, which should bode well for his odds of shutting down
Friday's KBO action saw quite a few offensive explosions, with five teams scoring eight or more runs. The Dinos led the way with 12 runs in their victory over the struggling Twins, with Sung Bum Na grabbing four hits and Aaron Altherr grabbing three, including a two-run homer. The Bears didn't trail far behind, scoring 10 runs in their win against the Giants, with Jae Il Oh and Jae Won Oh both homering. The Heroes' and Tigers' lineups had big days as well, with the Tigers eventually winning 9-8 on Won Joon Choi's 11th-inning walkoff single. Elsewhere, Mel Rojas Jr. and Baek Ho Kang made sure they weren't left out of the fun, as they hit back-to-back homers in the Wiz's 8-3 victory over the Lions. Saturday's slate sees several rather shaky pitchers take the hill, so there's a good chance scoring will remain high.
Pitchers
Aaron Brooks ($9,000 DraftKings, $29 FanDuel as "Kia Starting P") is expensive and faces a tough matchup against a strong Heroes lineup, but he still looks like a strong option. His 2.36 ERA and 1.08 WHIP through his first 11 career starts in Korea are both top-five marks among qualified starters, though both numbers may actually underrate his recent performance. Over his last five starts, he's cruised to a 1.44 ERA and a 0.86 WHIP, striking out 31 batters in 31 innings while walking just seven. He's allowed just two homers all year, which should bode well for his odds of shutting down the Heroes' top bats.
Jong Hoon Park ($8,300 DraftKings, $26 FanDuel as "SK Starting P") is more expensive than you'd expect for a pitcher with a 5.37 ERA, but there are plenty of reasons to consider paying up for him. His underlying numbers are quite solid, as his slightly high 9.3 percent walk rate comes with a strong 24.7 percent strikeout rate. He's been good in his last two starts, striking out eight and walking two in each while allowing a combined four runs in 10.2 innings. The 28-year-old produced an ERA between 3.88 and 4.18 for three straight years prior to this season and should help his current figure move towards that mark Saturday against the league-worst Eagles lineup.
Chae Heung Choi ($7,700 DraftKings, $27 FanDuel as "Samsung Starting P") comes with a fair amount of risk against Mel Rojas Jr., Baek Ho Kang and the rest of the hot Wiz lineup. His 3.08 ERA this season likely overstates his talent, as it's taken a .245 BABIP to get him there, and his combination of an 18.4 percent strikeout rate and a 9.9 percent walk rate hardly jumps off the page. Still, it's hard to ignore how the southpaw has pitched recently, as he's allowed just a single run in his last three outings while striking out 15 and walking four. That's enough to make him worth a look as a mid-priced option even if he has plenty of downside.
Top Targets
After missing a pair of games with pelvic soreness, Jeong Choi ($5,400 DraftKings, $14 FanDuel) returned from the injured list Friday and looked no worse for wear, going 2-for-5 with a double. While most of his teammates have struggled, the veteran has been quite solid, hitting .267/.394/.517 over the course of the season. That line actually understates how well he's hit for much of the year, as he opened the campaign stuck in a terrible slump but has posted an excellent 1.100 OPS over his last 37 games. He'll have a good chance to raise that number against Jin Wook Kim of the Eagles, who's made just four KBO appearances in his career and who's struggled to a 5.96 ERA in the Futures League this season.
Hyun Soo Kim ($4,700 DraftKings, $15 FanDuel) hit an incredible five homers in a five-game stretch from July 3 to July 8, representing half of his season-long total. While he's since gone hitless in two straight games, he remains a strong bat for the floundering Twins, as he's hit .330 over the course of the season with 19 doubles, the second-highest number in the league. He'll get the platoon advantage Saturday against Dinos righty Mike Wright, who hasn't pitched as well as his 3.63 ERA would indicate, as his 18.7 strikeout percentage is only slightly better than league average while his 10.3 percent walk rate is fairly poor.
Bargain Bats
Dae Ho Lee ($4,000 DraftKings, $10 FanDuel) is perhaps more of a mid-price option than a true budget play, though he's quite cheap compared to the deep stable of options at first base on DraftKings. The 38-year-old remains a quality hitter in the latter stages of his career, hitting .306/.385/.502 with 10 homers this season. He's held onto both his power and contact ability while also improving his plate discipline, as his walk rate (11.3 percent) is higher than his strikeout rate (10.9 percent) for the first time since 2011. He'll get the platoon advantage Saturday against Bears lefty Hui Kwan Yu, who's struggled to an 8.9 percent strikeout rate and a 4.87 ERA this season.
Hee Dong Kwon ($2,900 DraftKings, $9 FanDuel) is interesting primarily due to his cheap price and his lineup spot, as he bats second in the league-best Dinos' lineup. He's moved up to that spot thanks to a breakout season, in which he's hitting .315/.426/.548, numbers which all easily represent career highs in his seventh KBO season. He's been particularly hot of late, with four of his nine homers coming in his last 11 games. He'll face 18-year-old Twins righty Min Ho Lee, whose 17.6 percent strikeout rate and 10.6 percent walk rate paint a far more modest picture than his 1.62 ERA does. A .247 BABIP, an 84.1 percent strand rate and a 0.0 HR/9 have helped suppress Lee's ERA, but Kwon has a decent shot of changing at least that latter number here.
Stacks To Consider
Bears vs. Se Woong Park: Jose Fernandez ($6,200 DraftKings, $17 FanDuel), Jae Il Oh ($4,600 DraftKings, $15 FanDuel), Jae Hwan Kim ($5,500 DraftKings, $17 FanDuel)
The second-ranked Bears lineup can handle most starting pitchers with ease, and Park should be no exception. The 24-year-old's 17.8 percent strikeout rate and 7.4 percent walk rate are perfectly adequate numbers, but he's had a significant home-run problem, allowing 10 homers on the season, tied for the highest number in the league. His 1.7 HR/9 has helped push his ERA up to 5.71, though that's at least a better number than in 2018, when he struggled to an awful 9.92 ERA and a 1.8 HR/9. He's technically coming off a pair of quality starts, though both fit just the bare minimum requirements for that label (six innings and three earned runs), so it's not as if he's suddenly become an intimidating arm.
Fernandez should be a strong play here, as he nearly always is against a shaky right-hander. His game log over the first six games of July was about as odd as you'll ever see: a five-hit game, followed by four straight hitless contests, followed by a four-hit game. He went hitless again Friday after two more multi-hit games, but he seems far more likely to grab at least two or three hits here with Park on the mound. No one had more hits than Fernandez last season, and no one has more that he does so far this year either, helping him to an excellent .376/.438/.573 slash line.
Oh has followed Fernandez out of the number three spot in both of the Bears' last two games. The first baseman has spent two separate stints on the injured list this season due to side issues, but he's been quite good when available, hitting .348/.402/.567 through 43 games. Oh doesn't have elite power for a first baseman, as he's never hit more than 27 homers in a season, though his current slugging percentage would be the third-best mark of his career, with his 15 doubles helping offset a modest total of seven home runs.
Cleanup man Kim rounds out this rather expensive stack. He's been rather streaky this season, struggling to an awful .175/.256/.291 slash line over a 27-game stretch from May 15 to June 17, but his current hot streak is probably a fairer reflection of his talent. He's hitting .380/.522/.535 over his last 20 games, walking in an impressive 22.8 percent of his plate appearances. An elite run should be no surprise coming from Kim, who won the MVP trophy as recently as 2018.
Lions vs. Hyeong Jun So: Tyler Saladino ($4,700 DraftKings, $13 FanDuel), Hak Ju Lee ($4,800 DraftKings, $7 FanDuel), Sang Su Kim ($4,800 DraftKings, $8 FanDuel)
So is just 18 years old and has all of nine KBO starts under his belt, so there's plenty of time for him to develop into a strong starter. He's very far from that level at this point, however, as he's slumped to a 6.65 ERA and a 1.59 WHIP thus far in his rookie season. His ERA is inflated by a low 55.6 percent strand rate, but that's not to say his underlying numbers are good. He's walked just 6.2 percent of opposing batters, but he simply can't put hitters away, posting a very low 10.5 percent strikeout rate.
The Lions lost Ja Wook Koo to a thumb injury Friday, but they also saw Saladino return from a back issue. Saladino had been on fire prior to his 14-game absence, hitting .362/.490/.637 in his last 26 games. He picked up right where he left off Friday, going 2-for-4 with a walk and a pair of RBI in the series opener. He won't get the platoon advantage against So, but So is a weak enough righty that it's worth starting him anyway, as he'll occupy a prime lineup position at a very reasonable price.
Lee followed Saladino out of the number three spot Friday and should be a very interesting option if he remains there Saturday. His price varies wildly between the two sites, making him a better play on FanDuel, though his eligibility at a shallow shortstop position on DraftKings keeps him interesting on that site. Lee's .267/.347/.418 season slash line hardly stands out, but he's hit a strong .342/.420/.513 over his last 24 contests and will get the platoon advantage against an unreliable righty in this one.
Like Saladino, Kim won't get the platoon advantage, but with the way he's been hitting lately, that shouldn't matter. In his last 10 games, the leadoff man owns an excellent .444/.565/.583 slash line, walking 10 times to go with just three strikeouts. He hasn't homered all year, but he does everything you want from a leadoff man, posting a .434 on-base percentage on the season and stealing seven bases. He leads the Lions with 36 runs and should get the chance to score a couple more Saturday.
