Dream11 Fantasy KBO: Twins at Bears

LG Twins (34-30-1) at Doosan Bears (39-26)

Friday, July 24th, 5:30 AM EDT

Projected Starters

LHP Woo Chan Cha (5-5, 5.37 ERA) vs LHP Hui Kwan Yu (6-4, 4.93 ERA)

Game Preview

The Twins and the Bears are two of the teams that look to sneak into the playoff race in the 2020 KBO season and are scheduled to begin a three-game series Friday – if the weather allows it, as nine of the last 10 games in the KBO scheduled have been either rained out or canceled. The Twins have gone 4-5-1 in their last 10 games, while the Bears have gone 7-3 and also enter this matchup in a three-game winning run. The pitching matchup here will feature a battle of two lefties when Woo Chan Cha faces Hui Kwan Yu. The ERA favors Yu slightly, as he owns a 4.93 mark against Cha's 5.37, but the momentum might be on Cha's side – he is coming off throwing seven shutout innings against the Eagles in his most recent start. As for Yu, he allowed four runs (three earned) against the Tigers the last time out.

Injuries

Bears

Chris Flexen - Out - Foot

7/17 8:54 PM IST - Flexen suffered a broken left foot in his last start Thursday, according to chosun.com. Flexen was struck by a batted ball in the first inning of Thursday's contest. Although he finished the frame, he was removed from the contest afterward and will now likely miss at least a month.

Yong Chan Lee - Out - Elbow

6/4 2:49 PM IST - Lee will undergo Tommy John surgery and is expected to miss at least a year, Daniel Kim of DKTV reports. Lee has started regularly for Doosan since 2018, but his 2020 season will come to an early and abrupt end as a result of his elbow injury. It remains to be seen who will enter the rotation in Lee's place, as the Giants have only needed five starting pitchers to date.

Se Hyuk Park - 10-Day IL - Knee

7/23 9:08 PM IST - Park was placed on the injured list Thursday with a sore right knee, according to chosun.com. Park is not dealing with a major injury, according to manager Tae Hyoung Kim, but the team decided it would be best to give him a few days to rest and recover. Sang Ho Chung is next in line behind the plate, but he has struggled at the plate this season, so Seung Hyun Jang could see some action as well.

Myung Joon Yoon - Out - Not Injury Related

7/17 3:11 PM IST - Yoon was removed from Doosan's roster Friday, Su Jin Park of Star News reports. The sixth-year pitcher will receive some time to recharge after surrendering five runs through his last 6.1 innings. Because of this recent drop in form, Yoon now has a 5.04 ERA over 26 games.

Twins

Eun Sung Chae - Out - Not Injury Related

7/16 10:14 PM IST - Chae was removed from the Twins' roster Thursday, according to chosun.com. Chae has been a regular in the Twins' outfield for years, but he was mired in a 4-for-43 (.093) slump at the plate, so the team decided to give him some time in the minors to figure some things out. Chang Gi Hong is set to see a boost in playing time until LG decides to bring Chae back.

Keun Woo Jeong - 10-Day IL - Quadriceps

7/11 10:39 PM IST - Jeong was placed on the injured list Saturday with a right quad injury, according to hankooki.com. It's not clear how long Jeong will be sidelined, but he will be out at least several games. Jeong has played a part-time role of late and has not seen the ball well in July, going 2-for-17 (.118) at the plate since the start of the month.

Chan Heon Jung - Out - Not Injury Related

7/17 9:02 PM IST - Jung was removed from the Twins' roster Friday, according to Soo Jin Park of Star News. Jung had his first rough start in quite some time Thursday, but his demotion has more to do with his usage than his performance. As has been customary all season, Jung will be skipped next time through the rotation, but he should start again before July comes to a close.

Dae Hyun Kim - 10-Day IL - Ankle

7/23 2:03 AM IST - The Twins placed Kim on the 10-day injured list Wednesday due to an ankle issue, Sang Kyung Park of The Chosun Ilbo reports. Park has been a mainstay in the LG bullpen all season, but he hasn't been particularly effective when called upon. He's posted a 6.56 ERA and 1.80 WHIP over 23.1 innings on the campaign.

Chun Woong Lee - Out - Hand

7/18 1:50 PM IST - Lee will miss 3-4 weeks with a fracture in his left hand, Won Chul Shin of SPOTV reports. The 31-year-old exited Friday's game at Seoul early after receiving one accidental pitch to the palm during an at-bat. The injury turned out worse than envisioned, as Lee will miss a few weeks recuperating from his fracture. Chang Gi Hong looks to receive more starts in the outfield until further notice.

Sang Gyu Lee - Out - Not Injury Related

7/11 10:45 PM IST - Lee was removed from the Twins' roster Saturday, according to hankooki.com. Lee was brilliant to open the season, posting a 1.35 ERA and recording four saves over his first 13 appearances, but he has struggled mightily of late, allowing 13 earned runs in 7.2 innings over his last eight outings. As a result, the Twins decided to send him down to iron some things out.

Yong Taik Park - Out - Hamstring

6/24 2:15 PM IST - Park will miss four weeks with a right hamstring injury, Se Ho Yoon of Sports Seoul reports. The news comes as no surprise, considering the 19-year LG vet struggled to exit Tuesday's game with Kiwoom under his own power. Park now joins Eun Sung Chae (ankle) and Min Sung Kim (thigh) on the list of starting position players out for the injury-riddled Twins. As a result of Park's injury, 20-year-old prospect Jae Won Lee was summoned to the first team and will start Wednesday.

Eun Beom Song - Out - Not Injury Related

7/6 10:47 PM IST - Song was removed from the Twins' roster Monday, according to koreadaily.com. Song returned to action last week after missing some time with a bruised thigh, but he was not particularly sharp over his last couple outings, so the Twins decided he could use more time to work on his mechanics in the minors.

Twins' Expected Lineup

SP - Woo Chan Cha

1. Chang Gi Hong
2. Ji Hwan Oh
3. Hyun Soo Kim
4. Roberto Ramos
5. Hyung Jong Lee
6. Min Sung Kim
7. Ho Eun Kim
8. Kang Nam Yoo
9. Ju Hyeon Jung

Bears' Expected Lineup

SP - Hui Kwan Yu

1. Kun Woo Park
2. Jose Fernandez
3. Jae Il Oh
4. Jae Hwan Kim
5. Joo Hwan Choi
6. Kyoung Min Hur
7. Jae Ho Kim
8. Sang Ho Chung
9. Soo Bin Jung

Top Picks

Jose Fernandez, Bears: Fernandez should be considered as one of the MVP contenders after the first few months of the 2020 KBO season, and for good reason. The Bears slugger has hit for .348 with five homers and 13 RBI during the current month. At this point, he should be a strong alternative for most lineups regardless of the matchup.

Hyun Soo Kim, Twins: Kim enters this contest riding a six-game hitting streak, and he has gone 10-for-22 (.455) with two homers and nine RBI during that stretch. The veteran outfielder has been one of the most consistent players in the Twins offense this season.

Jae Hwan Kim, Bears: Kim is one of the league leaders in the RBI department with 59, and he is on pace to surpass what he did in 2019 when he finished with 15 homers and 91 RBI. He is already at 12 homers, and he has also hit for a strong .317 in 63 July at-bats.

Roberto Ramos, Twins: Ramos is in a bit of a slump when it comes to average, as he is hitting "only" .246 in 61 July at-bats. However, he has gone yard four times during that span. He should remain productive as long as he keeps mashing the ball into the stands.

Captaincy Options

1. Jose Fernandez
2. Hyun Soo Kim
3. Jae Hwan Kim

Dream11 Team

P – Hui Kwan Yu
C – Jae Wook Park
IF – Jose Fernandez (C)
IF – Roberto Ramos
IF – Jae Ho Kim
OF – Hyun Soo Kim (VC)
OF – Jae Hwan Kim
OF – In Tae Kim
OF – Soo Bin Jung