DFS KBO: Thursday Cheat Sheet

Thursday's five-game KBO slate has several questionable arms taking the hill, so we could be in for another fruitful night for the bats around the league. However, because the caliber of pitching is such that there isn't anything resembling a lock, identifying solid pitching options could be challenging, especially with three games featuring double-digit projected run totals.

As customary, I'll highlight what I consider to be two of the safer pitching options at different price points, followed by some one-off hitters across the salary scale that could also prove profitable for cash games and/or tournaments. I'll then break down the two stacks that I trust the most to potentially string some above-average offensive numbers together and pay off for you in tournaments.

Pitchers

Ki Young Im ($9,000) bounced back impressively against the Dinos in his most recent start, allowing just one earned run over two hits across six innings. Im has had some rough outings overall this season, but his matchup against the lowly Wyverns could help him put together a second straight quality start. Im already amassed 27.1 DK points against SK on the strength of six shutout innings in a previous start, and the Wyverns come in averaging the second-fewest runs (4.3) and hits (8.4) per game.

Myung Gi Song ($6,500) doesn't come without risk, but every pitcher on Thursday's slate essentially does. Song comes in having just put together a pair of strong outings wherein he allowed just one earned run apiece over a combined 10.1 innings during which he's also recorded 11 strikeouts. Song has faced the Bears before this season but only in a relief capacity, so it remains to be seen how he'll perform versus the potent Doosan offense as a starter. One thing in his favor is the Bears, while boasting a KBO-high .298 batting average, have a modest (by KBO standards) 88 homers over 92 games. Song also has impressive swing-and-miss upside and good control (33:10 K:BB over 32.1 frames), which makes him a bargain at his salary.

ALSO CONSIDER: Tae Hoon Kim ($6,400)

Top Targets

Jose Fernandez ($6,000) is still in play despite the recommendation of Song as a pitching option, as he's now averaging 10.4 DK points following a 3-for-4 night Wednesday. That was Fernandez's third straight double-digit fantasy-point tally, and he's now hitting .476 (20-for-42) with 12 RBI in his last 10 contests. Fernandez's road slash is now up to .401/.448/.624 over 45 games as well, figures partly comprised of 12 home runs and 48 RBI.

Eui Ji Yang ($5,300) continues to be very affordable for a player that's slashing .303/.384/.536 with 16 doubles, 15 home runs and 66 RBI over 76 games. The veteran is hitting a scalding .410 with runners in scoring position as well, and he's hitting .318 over 36 home games. Then there's the matter of how effective Yang has been when facing the Bears this season, a team he's battered for a .405 average (17-for-42) with four home runs and 15 RBI in 11 games.

Hyung Jong Lee ($4,500) has had a difficult time at home this season, but he carries plenty of upside, a reasonable salary and an excellent matchup versus Wiz starter Min Soo Kim. The right-hander has allowed a 6.18 ERA, 1.82 WHIP and .351 average across 20 starts this season, numbers that include an 8.10 ERA, 2.25 WHIP and massive .419 BAA surrendered to LG over three starts. Lee is slashing .318/.397/.558 for the season and is the total package as a hitter, lacing six doubles, two triples and seven homers while striking out just 22 times over 146 plate appearances.

ALSO CONSIDER: Mel Rojas ($6,100); Sung Bum Na ($5,800); Aaron Altherr ($5,700); Hyun Soo Kim ($5,500); Preston Tucker ($5,400)

Bargain Bats

Jeong Dae Bae ($3,900) is averaging 9.0 DK points per contest and checks in with a .321/.401/.489 slash with 34 XBH, 41 RBI and 16 steals. Moreover, Bae has a .378/.441/.604 line with an average of 10.9 DK points over 45 home games, and all of those numbers make his current salary all the more surprising. Bae has been in a slump over the last 10 games overall (.219 average across 32 at-bats), but he's still offered a glimpse of his upside with DK tallies of 20 and 10 points, respectively in two of his last three games.

Ji Wan Na ($3,600) is another player who offers a highly appealing combination of salary and upside, as he checks into Thursday's action with a .290/.379/.446 slash with 23 XBH (11 doubles, 12 homers) and 64 RBI over 86 contests. He's also been productive in his previous encounters with the Wyverns, as he's posted a .333/.390/.528 slash with two home runs and 12 RBI across nine games against SK. Wyverns pitcher Seung Won Moon is actually one of the highest-priced pitchers on the slate, but he's allowed 12 home runs over 104.2 innings.

ALSO CONSIDER: Jin Sung Kang ($3,900)

Stack to Consider

Wiz vs. Yun Sik Kim: Jae Gyun Hwang ($4,700); Mel Rojas ($6,100); Baek Ho Kang ($4,800); Jeong Dae Bae ($3,900)

Kim's poor numbers this season were already discussed earlier in Bae's entry, while the Wiz is averaging 10 hits and 5.6 runs per game while also sporting a robust .286 team batting average.

Hwang makes for a great way to start off the Wiz onslaught, as he's slashing .297/.353/.484 with 25 doubles, one triple, 11 homers and 53 RBI. The veteran came into 2020 with at least 20 homers in four consecutive campaigns, so the power upside is legitimate.

Rojas has been one of the most dangerous hitters in the KBO all season, as he's averaging 11.8 DK points on the strength of a .354/.409/.696 slash with 60 XBH (including 31 homers) and 84 RBI over 89 games. The Twins are one of the teams he's tormented the most as well, as he boasts a .485 average with five homers and seven RBI against LG pitching.

Kang brings plenty of pop for a player of his salary, as the left-handed slugger has 33 XBH, including 15 homers, and he's also driven in 51 runs as part of a .309/.383/.533 slash for the season.

Bae rounds out the stack at a sub-$4K price, and his positive attributes were discussed in the Bargain Bats section.

Dinos vs. Seung Jin Lee: Sung Bum Na ($5,800); Eui Ji Yang ($5,300); Jin Sung Kang ($3,900); Aaron Altherr ($5,700)

The Dinos continue to be one of the most powerful offenses in the KBO, averaging a league-high 6.2 runs per contest and having hit a KBO-best 120 homers.

Na is averaging 11.5 DK points per game and slashing .323/.396/.628 with 25 homers and 78 RBI across 83 games. The slugger has also been at his best at home, as he carries a .380/.442/.726 line across 43 games and has slugged 14 of those round trippers there as well.

Yang's considerable upside was already detailed earlier, while Kang could be one of the better fantasy-point-per-dollar plays of the night. He's carrying a .339/.371/.550 line into this contest, one that's partly comprised of 17 doubles, 12 homers and 54 RBI. Kang has also been an excellent home-park hitter, as he owns a .362 average with nine of his homers over a 38-game sample there.

Finally, Altherr is hitting just .188 over his last 10 games, so you could well see him rostered less than he was earlier in the season. That makes him a strong tournament play, especially considering he boasts a .366/.435/.805 slash against Bears pitching in 11 games this season. Altherr also owns an impressive .914 OPS in 42 home games and is hitting .329 with runners in scoring position for the season.

ALSO CONSIDER: Twins vs. Min Soo Kim