This article is part of our DraftKings KBO series.
Saturday's KBO slate featured plenty of shaky starting pitching, though it didn't wind up being a particularly high-scoring day overall, with the 10 teams combining to score 47 runs. Good pitching didn't turn out to be all that hard to find. Andrew Suarez and Walker Lockett were both good as expected, allowing one earned run apiece, but they were outdone by Myung Gi Song, Hyeong Jun So and Won Tae Choi, each of whom threw at least six innings without allowing a single run. So was the best of the group, as he struck out nine Giants over seven scoreless innings while allowing just three hits and one walk in the Wiz's 8-1 victory. On the offensive side, Jae Hwan Kim, Sung Bum Na and Byung Ho Park all managed two hits and a homer, but Jamie Romak was the star of the day, going 2-for-3 with two homers and five RBI.
Sunday's slate again starts at 4 a.m. ET and looks rain-free as of writing. The day features a fairly standard split of strong and weak starters.
Pitchers
Ariel Miranda ($10,000) isn't entirely consistent, allowing at least five runs three times this season, but his huge strikeout upside makes him a very compelling fantasy option, especially for larger tournaments. After striking out at least nine batters in each of his last four starts, he now owns a 32.0 percent strikeout rate, easily the best mark among qualified starters. He had significant walk issues early in the year but has walked a respectable eight batters over his last four outings, dropping his walk rate to 13.0 percent. That high walk rate, along with a .372 BABIP, has led to a poor 1.56 WHIP, but his 3.33 ERA is quite strong. He'll face a decent Landers lineup Sunday which ranks fifth in scoring but will do so at pitcher-friendly Jamsil Baseball Stadium.
Min Hyeok Shin's ($8,800) stock is certainly boosted by the fact that he gets to face the ninth-ranked Eagles lineup, but he's emerged as an interesting enough option in his own right. That's something of a surprise, as he was merely a fifth-round pick back in 2018 and struggled to a 5.79 ERA and 1.67 WHIP in a swingman role in his debut season last year. This season, however, he's cruised to a 3.52 ERA and 1.33 WHIP in seven starts and five relief appearances. In all but one of those starts, he's allowed no more than two earned runs. He's backed those numbers up with a solid combination of an 18.7 percent strikeout rate and a 7.6 percent walk rate, so there's plenty of reason to buy in despite his short track record.
Woo Jin An ($7,500) hasn't quite put everything together, but the 21-year-old is an exciting prospect and a strong mid-priced option on Sunday's slate. He excelled in relief last season, cruising to a 3.00 ERA and 1.03 WHIP while striking out 28.7 percent of opposing batters. His numbers have slid back as expected upon his return to the rotation this year, as he owns a 4.35 ERA and 1.43 WHIP through nine starts. That's mostly a product of his early struggles, however, as he posted a 6.14 ERA and 1.91 WHIP over his first four starts before turning things around and recording a 3.38 ERA and 1.16 WHIP over his last five. The latter form is much closer to what we should expect from the young righty going forward, as he features MLB-level velocity in the form of a 93.8 mph fastball and 87.7 mph slider. He'll face a sixth-ranked Lions lineup Sunday, a unit which is far less intimidating on the road.
Top Targets
There may come a day when it's not worth trying to fit Baek Ho Kang ($6,300) into your lineup despite his lofty price tag, but today is not that day. He's the most expensive hitter on the slate for a reason, as he's also first in DraftKings points per game. While he's fallen to second with a 1.104 OPS, there's certainly nothing to complain about in his .419/.502/.602 slash line, as the first two components lead all qualified hitters by a wide margin. He's showing no signs of slowing down, hitting .548/.650/.839 over a nine-game hitting streak. He's making a strong case for MVP at just 21 years old and should continue to do so Sunday, as he'll get the platoon advantage against converted catcher Gyun An Na, whose strong 2.53 ERA through 21.1 innings this season isn't supported by his 14.4 percent strikeout rate.
Eui Ji Yang ($5,300) didn't fit into the Dinos stack listed below due to an effort to keep things somewhat cheap, but he's as interesting as ever either alone or with some of his teammates. He's the lone qualified hitter ahead of Kang on the OPS leaderboard, as his .360/.477/.646 slash line is good for a 1.123 mark. It's something of a mystery why he's merely tied for the ninth most expensive hitter on the slate despite being tied for second in points per game while being eligible at catcher. The veteran backstop is riding an eight-game hitting streak and has three straight multi-hit games, a trend which should continue against the struggling Si Hwan Jang (discussed below).
Bargain Bats
Ah Seop Son ($3,200) finished last season hitting .352, trailing only Hyung Woo Choi's .354 mark for the batting title. Some regression in his age-33 season wouldn't have been a surprise, but he's hitting just .269 this year, a shock given that he hit .295 or better in each of the previous 11 seasons. He's finally showing signs of life, however, with two three-hit games in his last five starts. If that momentum continues, he'll be a steal at his low price, especially with the platoon advantage Sunday against Wiz righty William Cuevas, who's struggled to a 6.75 ERA and 1.73 WHIP through seven starts this season.
David Freitas' ($3,100) season epitomizes the notion that players with MLB experience deserve the benefit of the doubt even if they struggle early on at the KBO level. He was demoted in early May after hitting just .253/.279/.354 in his first 26 games, but that small sample was nowhere near long enough to conclude that he doesn't have what it takes to succeed in Korea. Since his return, he's hit an excellent .450/.500/.750 in nine games. Unfortunately, he's yet to return to a true everyday role, so he's tough to select if you can't check the starting lineups in the middle of the night, but if he's starting, he's likely to produce at a far better level than his price tag suggests.
Stacks to Consider
Dinos vs. Si Hwan Jang: Sung Bum Na ($5,400), Min Woo Park ($4,400), Myung Ki Lee ($3,400)
The league's highest-scoring lineup looks like the best stack option yet again Sunday. Jang was occasionally interesting as a budget option last season, as his poor 5.02 ERA at least came with a 19.1 percent strikeout rate, but everything has gone wrong for him this year. His ERA has ballooned to 7.71 while his WHIP sits at a miserable 2.29. He hasn't struck out more than two batters in any of his last six trips to the mound, leading to a very low 10.9 percent strikeout rate that looks even worse next to his 16.4 percent walk rate. He's yet to last longer than four innings in any of his seven appearances this season and is unlikely to reverse that trend Sunday.
We'll go with the lefties this time around with a struggling righty on the mound for the Eagles. The stack listed here features a trio who typically occupy the first three spots in the Dinos' order. Na is technically having a down year, producing the third-lowest OPS over his nine-year career, though it's not as if there's anything wrong with his .281/.365/.527 slash line. He's riding a six-game hitting streak and has homered twice in his last four games, giving him 12 for the year, one shy of the league lead. Park is below his usual standards as well, as his .747 OPS is his lowest mark since his rookie season back in 2013, but he's still hitting .291 and has more walks (16) than strikeouts (14), giving the big bats at the heart of the Dinos' order plenty of chances to drive him in. Lee, who follows Park out of the number two spot, typically swings one of the light bats in the team's lineup. His .286 average and 15.7 percent walk rate have led to a .393 on-base percentage, however, giving the Dinos a pair of excellent table-setters who reliably fill the bases for Na and the rest of the team's sluggers.
Twins vs. Min Woo Lee: Hyun Soo Kim ($5,000), Chang Ki Hong ($4,800), Hyung Jong Lee ($2,900)
The Twins' lineup has been well below expectations this season, as the team ranks just eighth in runs per game, but a date with Min Woo Lee should help them get back on track. Lee wasn't close to good last season, finishing the year with a 6.79 ERA and 1.66 WHIP in 22 starts while striking out just 13.8 percent of opposing batters. He's made just three starts and one relief appearance so far this season, but things look much the same or even worse, as he owns an 8.79 ERA and 1.74 WHIP through 14.1 innings of work while producing a similarly low 13.0 percent strikeout rate. There's little reason to believe that a 28-year-old with a career 6.40 ERA will turn things around any time soon.
We'll lead with lefties here against the right-handed Lee, though we'll skip Roberto Ramos, who's hitting just .230/.305/.399 on the year and has two hits in his last seven games. Kim has done a perfectly fine job leading the offense despite getting little help from Ramos, as his .920 OPS is a near match for his .927 mark from last season. He's gone hitless just once in his last 12 games. Leadoff man Hong sat Saturday due to illness but appeared off the bench, so there's a good chance he's back in action Sunday. He's been excellent at controlling the zone this season, walking 43 times to go with just 26 strikeouts, helping him to a .454 on-base percentage, the third-best mark among qualified hitters. Hyung Jong Lee helps keep this stack cheap and will be a very interesting option if he bats second, as he's done in three of his five starts since returning from the Futures League in late May. He won't get the platoon advantage against Min Woo Lee, and his .227/.346/.432 line through 29 games this year is nothing special, but his .296/.370/.547 line last season demonstrates his considerable upside.
