DFS KBO: Sunday Cheat Sheet

Rain limited Saturday's KBO slate to just three games, with the Twins-Giants and Dinos-Lions games getting washed away. The lone game played between two playoff teams, the Wiz and Heroes, was the lone blowout, as William Cuevas came within an out of a complete game for the Wiz while allowing just a single run while Jake Brigham gave up six runs for the Heroes and couldn't complete the fifth inning, leading to an 8-1 Wiz win. The Tigers-Eagles game was the closest affair, with the Tigers winning a tight one by a 5-4 score, helped by Preston Tucker reaching base four times and scoring a pair of runs. Elsewhere, an eight-inning, one-run showing from Won Joon Choi helped the Bears past the Wyverns, 5-1. 

Sunday's slate, which starts bright and early at 1:00 AM ET, looks to have similar weather issues, with only the Wiz-Heroes and Wyverns-Bears games looking particularly safe as of writing.

Pitchers

Aaron Brooks ($9,200) has scored the most DraftKings points per game out of all the pitchers on this slate and is a fairly obvious choice against the league-worst Eagles lineup. He'd been on a somewhat poor stretch, posting a 5.89 ERA over a span of three starts before being sidelined very briefly by a sore back in late August. He returned after missing less than a full turn in the rotation and gave very little reason to be concerned for his health, holding the Lions to just three hits in eight scoreless innings Tuesday. On the season as a whole, his 20.9 percent strikeout rate and 4.3 percent walk rate back up his 2.68 ERA and 1.07 WHIP, making him an interesting option even against much stronger competition.

Eric Jokisch ($8,700) has also battled an injury recently, making just a single start since Aug. 8 due to shoulder troubles. That undoubtedly adds some risk to his profile Sunday, as does the fact that he's facing the fourth-ranked offense. Still, Jokisch's season-long dominance is impressive enough that he's worthy of consideration despite those factors. He's been incredibly consistent throughout the campaign, only once allowing more than three earned runs. That's led to a 2.09 ERA and a 1.01 WHIP, both of which lead all qualified starters.

Shi Hwan Jang ($6,800) takes a hit in that his Eagles teammates are unlikely to give him much support against Brooks, but he's nevertheless one of the more interesting options among the day's cheaper arms. He's partially interesting in that he gets a relatively easy task against a sixth-ranked Tigers lineup, though he's also worth consideration in his own right. His 21.1 percent strikeout rate is quite strong, good for fourth among starters who have thrown at least 90 innings and giving him a fair amount of fantasy upside. His 11.3 percent walk rate remains an issue and has helped keep his ERA up at an unimpressive 4.72, but that's baked into his price.

Top Targets

Roberto Ramos ($5,000) is back to looking like one of the best hitters in the league. He opened the year hitting .380/.448/.796 over 31 games before landing on the injured list in mid-June with ankle and back issues. In his next 41 games after his return, he hit an unremarkable .227/.309/.422. Over the last 20 games, however, he looks as good as ever, posting a .303/.384/.724 slash line and hitting nine homers. He could add to that total against Giants righty Adrian Sampson, who's had a few decent starts of late but who still owns a 6.35 ERA on the season.

The Wyverns face a strong pitcher in Duk Joo Ham on Sunday, though he's set to start his first game since 2017 in what could wind up looking like a bullpen day for the Bears. That should be a great opportunity for Wyverns hitters against a pitching staff which ranks third-worst in runs allowed. Jamie Romak ($4,500) looks like the most cost-effective way of taking advantage of that situation. The Canadian slugger has swung a very hot bat over his last 15 games, hitting .411/.444/.696 with four homers and 13 RBI.

Bargain Bats

Hae Min Park ($2,900) comes quite cheap for a leadoff man, even one who fills that role for a mediocre lineup such as the Lions' eighth-ranked unit. The Lions' offense had been struggling for quite some time before scoring 23 runs over their last two games against the Bears, though Park was swinging well even when the majority of his teammates were struggling. Over his last 21 games, he's hitting .367/.393/.519. He'll get the platoon advantage in the league's most hitter-friendly park against Dinos righty Min Hyuk Shin, who owns a 5.73 ERA this season.

While Shi Hwan Jang was mentioned above as a cheap option worth considering, that's due more to his strikeout upside than his ability to prevent runs, so the Tigers' top bats should definitely be in play if you don't include Jang yourself. Ji Wan Na ($3,700) provides a cheap way to grab a piece of the heart of the Tigers' order. While he's not on the same level as Preston Tucker and Hyung Woo Choi, following that pair in the lineup has helped him record 73 RBI, good for 10th in the league. The cleanup man has been particularly hot over his last 13 contests, hitting .365/.414/.577.

Stacks to Consider

Bears vs. Won Seok Oh: Kun Woo Park ($5,000), Jose Fernandez ($6,300), Kyoung Min Hur ($4,600)

This may be a bullpen game for the Wyverns, as the 19-year-old Oh has been a reliever in each of his four KBO appearances to date. If that's the case, this should be an easy day for the Bears' offense, as the Wyverns' pitching staff ranks last in the league in runs allowed and is the only unit giving up more than six runs per game. It's possible Oh pitches somewhat deep into the game, as he's reached five innings twice in the Futures League, but that's not a bad thing for the Bears, either. Oh has done nothing wrong in his tiny sample of 4.2 KBO innings this season, allowing just three unearned runs, but his 5.55 ERA in 24.1 frames in the Futures League suggests he'll have a tough time shutting down higher-level competition.

While Oh is a lefty, he may not pitch very deep into this game, so I wouldn't feel the need to avoid the Bears' left-handers here. Still, we may as well include the team's top righties, so this stack includes leadoff man Park and number six hitter Hur, the only players who fit that description in the Bears' typical top six. Fernandez is included here despite the fact that he'll have the platoon disadvantage during Oh's innings, as he's simply too good to not include and is hitting .403 over his last 16 games. 

Heroes vs. Joon Ho Ha: Ha Seong Kim ($5,600), Jung Hoo Lee ($5,500), Addison Russell ($4,800)

This is even more likely to be a bullpen game, as Ha hasn't thrown more than two innings in a game at either the KBO or Futures League level this season. The 31-year-old lefty's 4.43 ERA and 1.43 WHIP in 20.1 innings of relief this season are both adequate enough numbers, though his 11:18 K:BB suggests he's due for quite a large amount of regression, so the Heroes should have the chance to jump out to an early lead here. The Wiz's bullpen is much-improved from the start of the year, and their pitching staff now sits third overall in runs allowed, but the relievers who are likely to enter as early as the second or third inning won't be the team's best and should provide plenty of hittable pitches to the Heroes' top bats.

Platoon advantage shouldn't matter for this stack, since Ha isn't likely to go more than once through the order. This stack therefore features a trio of hitters who should hit together in the heart of the Heroes' order. Lee and Russell have been struggling lately, but a matchup against Ha and a handful of low-leverage relievers should be what they need to get back on track.