We're back to KBO being the lone regular-season baseball league on DraftKings after a couple months sharing the spotlight with MLB. Things are shaping up for an exciting stretch run over in Korea, though the standings are a bit more spread out than they were just a week or two ago, as the Dinos' eight-game winning streak has seen them pull five games ahead of the second-place Heroes. Those Heroes, along with the Wiz and Twins, look to be fairly safely part of the playoff picture, but there's a tight battle for the fifth and final playoff spot, with the Tigers trailing the defending champion Bears by just one game and last year's last-place team, the Giants, still in the hunt, sitting four games out. Strangely enough, no current playoff teams are facing each other Tuesday or for the next two days, though the contending Giants and Tigers should be able to give the Twins and Heroes some trouble in their respective games.
Pitchers
Jake Brigham ($9,700) wasn't himself early in the season, though that appears to be due to the elbow issues that bugged him throughout the first part of the campaign. In his first eight starts, he struggled to a 4.91 ERA and an unremarkable 1.36 WHIP. In his last eight, however, he appears to be fully healthy. He's allowed more than two runs just once in that stretch, cruising to a 2.66 ERA and a 1.16 WHIP while striking out 52 batters in 47.1 innings. That level
We're back to KBO being the lone regular-season baseball league on DraftKings after a couple months sharing the spotlight with MLB. Things are shaping up for an exciting stretch run over in Korea, though the standings are a bit more spread out than they were just a week or two ago, as the Dinos' eight-game winning streak has seen them pull five games ahead of the second-place Heroes. Those Heroes, along with the Wiz and Twins, look to be fairly safely part of the playoff picture, but there's a tight battle for the fifth and final playoff spot, with the Tigers trailing the defending champion Bears by just one game and last year's last-place team, the Giants, still in the hunt, sitting four games out. Strangely enough, no current playoff teams are facing each other Tuesday or for the next two days, though the contending Giants and Tigers should be able to give the Twins and Heroes some trouble in their respective games.
Pitchers
Jake Brigham ($9,700) wasn't himself early in the season, though that appears to be due to the elbow issues that bugged him throughout the first part of the campaign. In his first eight starts, he struggled to a 4.91 ERA and an unremarkable 1.36 WHIP. In his last eight, however, he appears to be fully healthy. He's allowed more than two runs just once in that stretch, cruising to a 2.66 ERA and a 1.16 WHIP while striking out 52 batters in 47.1 innings. That level of performance is nothing new, as the veteran righty recorded a 2.96 ERA and 1.23 WHIP last season. He should be in for another strong performance against the Tigers' seventh-ranked lineup.
Drew Rucinski ($9,500) shares top billing with Brigham on this slate, as he'll have a slightly easier matchup against the ninth-ranked Wyverns lineup but has perhaps been slightly less dominant of late. He's coming off a start in which he gave up four runs against the Lions, but he did strike out eight batters in that outing, giving him 25 in 19.2 innings over his last three starts. He ran into trouble from late July through late August, posting a 7.33 ERA and a 1.89 WHIP over a five-start stretch, but he's fully past those struggles now, as he's won four of his last five starts while posting a 2.84 ERA and 1.07 WHIP.
Among the day's cheaper arms, Won Joon Choi ($6,700) remains confusingly inexpensive. Ignore his low DraftKings points per game, as that's held back by the fact that he spent much of the season as a reliever. He entered the rotation in mid-July, however, and he's been everything the Bears could have asked for since then, posting a 2.91 ERA and a 1.31 WHIP. He struck out four or fewer batters in the first six of those starts but has begun striking out more lately, recording at least five in each of his last six outings. Expect a respectable handful of whiffs and not many runs Tuesday as he faces the league-worst Eagles lineup.
Top Targets
When Roberto Ramos ($5,700) is on his game, he may be the best hitter in the league. While he did end last week with a pair of hitless games, that followed a five-game stretch in which he hit .474 with five homers. Stretching back over his last 35 contests, he's hitting .282/.382/.695 with 15 homers, good for nearly one every other game. That's given him 38 homers on the season, edging out Mel Rojas Jr.'s 37 for most in the league. He should have a good chance to add another with the platoon advantage against Giants righty Adrian Sampson, who owns a 5.78 ERA and a 1.61 WHIP.
If the majority of the Bears' best bats weren't all slumping at the same time, I likely would have featured them as a recommended stack here against Eagles righty Jin Wook Kim, who owns a 5.12 ERA and a 1.63 WHIP on the year. Jose Fernandez ($5,800) looks worthy of inclusion with or without his teammates, however. He hadn't been at his best in late August and much of September, hitting a modest .269/.327/.366 over a 22-game stretch. He's now riding a four-game hitting streak, going 7-for-16 at the plate in those games to raise his season slash line to .355/.415/.518.
Bargain Bats
William Cuevas may have a 3.93 ERA on the season and a 3.88 ERA over his last 10 starts, but his 29:20 K:BB in 55.2 innings over that stretch suggests he's been far from dominant. I certainly wouldn't be afraid to include a few Lions hitters against him in their hitter-friendly home park, starting with Daniel Palka ($2,900). The former Chicago White Sox slugger struggled out of the game at the start of his time in Korea, hitting .212/.289/.388 in his first 22 games. That's far too small of a sample to wipe out the benefit of the doubt that former MLB players deserve when they head to the KBO, however. He's demonstrated why that's the case over his last six games, grabbing a hit in all six while hitting .333/.391/.667 with a pair of homers.
Sticking with the Lions, expect Dong Yeop Kim ($2,900) to continue featuring here until his price aligns with his current form. The outfielder hit just .215/.265/.338 last season and opened this campaign with a .258/.295/.407 line in his first 48 games, causing him to be demoted twice. The demotions clearly worked, as he's been an entirely different player since returning to the lineup, hitting .380/.408/.635 with nine homers in 41 games. He's been even better than that in his last 15 contests, homering five times, scoring 15 runs and driving in 16 more while hitting .433/.453/.733.
Stacks to Consider
Wiz vs. Seung Min Lee: Mel Rojas Jr. ($6,400), Jae Gyun Hwang ($5,800), Jeong Dae Bae ($4,100)
Lee has made just four appearances (two as a starter and two as a reliever) thus far in his rookie season, and none of them have gone well. He allowed more than a run per inning in each of them, adding up to an 11.81 ERA and a 2.44 WHIP in 10.2 total frames. His 6:11 K:BB certainly backs up the idea that he's been rather overmatched. His 3.95 ERA in 54.2 innings in the Futures League isn't bad but hardly suggests that he ought to dominate at the KBO level. This could wind up being closer to a bullpen game than a true start, but that's great for the Wiz as well, as they'll then get to face the Lions' relievers for several innings in the league's most hitter-friendly park.
I've left Rojas as part of this stack despite the fact that a hip issue prevented him from starting Sunday, as he did make an appearance off the bench and seemingly has a good chance of being ready to play following Monday's off day. I certainly wouldn't include him if I was unable to check the lineups at the last minute, however. If you've played any KBO daily fantasy this year, you'll know how good Rojas is when healthy, as his .344/.410/.661 slash line is good for a 1.071 OPS, the best mark among qualified hitters. He's been passed by Roberto Ramos on the home run leaderboard but still ranks second with 37, while he leads the league with 108 RBI.
Hwang owns a strong .311/.371/.506 slash line on the season, though that actually underrates how well he's performed for most of the campaign. He was rather unimpressive early on, struggling to a .261/.297/.377 line through his first 35 games. In his last 72 contests, however, the former San Francisco Giant is hitting .334/.407/.568. That's good for a .975 OPS, a number which would have him tied with Preston Tucker for fifth place among qualified hitters.
I've gone with Bae rather than the more talented Baek Ho Kang to round out this stack, both for budget reasons and to avoid the left-on-left matchup during Lee's innings. Bae has recorded six multi-hit games over his last 11 contests, scoring 11 runs and driving in 10 more over that stretch while hitting .306/.352/.449. That line is actually marginally worse than his season-long .302/.382/.460 slash line, however. The 24-year-old had accomplished very little prior to this season, and his .379 BABIP likely inflates his current numbers somewhat, though the fact that he plays center field and has stolen 19 bases indicates that he has the speed to reliably run a high number in that category.
Heroes vs. Ki Young Im: Jung Hoo Lee ($5,900), Hye Sung Kim ($5,400), Keon Chang Seo ($4,900)
Im's eight-run implosion in his last outing, which came against these same Heroes, raised his season ERA to 5.34, not far from his 5.73 ERA from last season. It's a disappointing development for the 27-year-old righty, who looked to be reaching a new level early in the year, as he owned a 2.96 ERA and a 1.21 WHIP through his first nine outings of the year. He simply hasn't been the same over his last 10 starts, posting a 7.80 ERA and a 1.71 WHIP. The Heroes showed what they can do against him last week, and while this time around likely won't be quite so disastrous, it's difficult to imagine Im having much success.
The Heroes' lineup skews more left-handed these days in the absence of Byung Ho Park (finger) and Dong Won Park (knee), which should benefit them against Im. We'll skip the excellent but expensive Ha Seong Kim here in favor of a trio of left-handed bats. Lee is more than capable of leading this stack, as his .347/.413/.555 slash line suggests. He's been on a tear over his last nine games, driving in 10 runs and stealing a pair of bases while grabbing at least one hit in each contest, hitting .500/.537/.667 overall.
Hye Sung Kim is the player I'd cut if I were to pay up for Ha Seong Kim, but I've selected the former Kim here to save a bit of cash and get the platoon advantage. His .284/.340/.411 season slash line is more good than great, but he's moved into a top two spot in the lineup in recent weeks and is thriving in the role. Over his last 10 games, he's hitting .395/.422/.535 while scoring nine runs. He's also quite useful on the basepaths, as his 22 steals tie him for third in the league.
Seo, the 2014 KBO MVP, has hit his share of rough patches this season, but his overall .288/.393/.403 slash line is quite solid. He won't offer much in the power department, as his total of five homers suggests, but he has remarkable plate discipline, walking in 14.9 percent of his plate appearances while striking out just 9.2 percent of the time. There's also still plenty of speed left in his 31-year-old legs, as he's tied for the league lead with 23 steals. He's been on a roll over his last 15 games, hitting .379/.424/.483.
