**UPDATED: WED 6/3/20, 10:44 PM PDT**
Last week in the KBO we witnessed the continued barrage of production offensively, as over the course of the thirty games played there were eight teams scoring in double-digits, with six of them scoring over 11 runs, and three teams with 14 or more (non-Daily Fantasy related hint: take the overs, perhaps).
Popular pitching fared well for the most part (Odrisamer Despaigne, 31.2 DKFP; Casey Kelly, 33.3 DKFP), but did see their share of getting shellacked (Warwick Saupold, Hyun Jong Yang, Se Woong Park). And as we briefly delved into identifying contrarian pitching selections while trying to be selective when doing so, they too showed up in the right places (Tae In Won, 31.6 DKFP, 4.9% owned)…and the wrong ones (Chad Bell, -3.75)!
Ultimately, variance throws a hell of a great party occasionally, and whether you’re invited or not is up to making yourself available to it. When I speak about contrarian plays or trying to hedge against chalk, allow me to reiterate that by no means am I advocating to drop the lock-button hammer on such a play (particularly when playing in higher volume).
Participating in single-entry and three-entry-max tournaments makes the leverage (or lack thereof) that much more impactful, considering you’re clearly given a very limited number of lineups to either roster or not with any player. But regardless of the maximum number of entries, there’s no getting around the intrigue in entertaining the opposition to what’s anticipated-to-be a player north of 65% ownership.
For example: if you stacked Samsung against 66% owned Mike Wright (especially if you tacked on fellow Lions pitcher David Buchanan), It would have been difficult to not find yourself winning some cash on Saturday. And obviously unexpected outlier results happen far less often than they do happen, hence why I urge to tread lightly when chasing them.
Hitters
Hye Sung Kim (2B/SS), Kiwoom Heroes (vs. HAN)
Not only do we dip down to the bare-minimum price range ($2,100, 6/1), Hye Sung Kim is on a four-game hitting streak encompassed by nine hits, one home run, and a 40-fantasy point day on DraftKings.
The bargain-brilliant lefty has heated up as of late and most likely found himself a consistent spot in the Heroes’ rotation (for now). On the season, Hye Sung Kim is batting an 88 wRC+ (just about league average), .108 ISO, and .713 OPS. He also faces a Hanwha Eagles pitching unit that accounts for the third-worst WHIP in KBO (1.553 WHIP) and 114 earned runs in 2020 (3rd most in KBO).
Hye Sung Kim fits into any lineup with ease, and while his ownership may suggest that as well (20.8% owned on 5/31), it’s hard for him to kill your lineup’s chances at his frugal price point. Kim plays smoothly in both Guaranteed Prize Pool tournaments, and most notably Cash Games.
Jin Sung Kang (1B/OF!!!) + Eui Ji Yang (C), NC Dinos (vs. SK)
I’ve been a proud member of the Kang Gang (ie: Jin Sung Kang Stans) for several weeks, and now I can take the fandom to the next level by stacking with stud catcher Eui Ji Yang without missing a piece in the heart of the NC Dinos order!
Prior to this Tuesday’s slate, the tandem was impossible to achieve on DraftKings; mutually exclusive as both were restricted to the Catcher position. That time is over: as DraftKings has now added additional flavor to the favor by not only breaking Kang away from the Catcher designation entirely, but by deeming him dual-position-eligible as either First Baseman or Outfielder.
Typically punching out the #4 and #5 in the batting order, Jin Sung Kang (241 wRC+, .566 wOBA) and Eui Ji Yang (.977 OPS, 155 wRC+) are starting off their DK tandem-ability against the SK Wyverns pitching, who are fifth overall in Hits per 9-Innings allowed (9.3 H/9) and fourth-worst WHIP (1.492).
This is one ride-or-die in my heart which chalk-shame could never get in the way of. [Non-dramatic translation: I’ll be getting to plenty as a pair, in five-man stacks, and would recommend either or both in Cash Games and GPPs]
Other Work-Week Hitters I Will Likely Be Rostering:
High ($4,500+):
-Preston Tucker (OF), KIA
-Jose Miguel Fernandez (1B/2B), DOO
-Mel Rojas Jr (OF), KT
-Baek Ho Kang (1B/OF), KTW
-Aaron Altherr (OF), NCD
-Sung Bum Na (OF), NCD
-Hyun Soo Kim (OF), LG
-Ja Wook Koo (1B/OF), SAM
-Min Woo Park (2B), NCD
-Jung Hoo Lee (OF), KIW
-Jae Gyun Hwang (3B), KTW
Mid ($3,600-$4,400):
-Seung Taek Han (C), KIA
-Roberto Ramos (1B), LG
-Kyung Soo Park (2B), KT
-Ji Wan Na (OF), KIA
-Jin Gi Jeong (OF), SK
-Jin Hyuk No (2B/SS), NCD
Bargain ($2,100-$3,500):
-Keon Chang Seo (1B/2B), KIW
-Kang Nam Yoo (C), LG
-Woo Jun Sim (SS), KTW
-Chi Hong An (2B), LOT
-Si Hwan No (2B/3B), HAN
-Dong Yeop Kim (OF), SAM
-Kyoung Min Hur (3B), DOO
-Chan Do Park (OF), SAM
-Dong Hee Han (2B/3B), LOT
-Hee Dong Kwon (OF), NCD
Pitchers
Min Ho Lee, LG Twins (vs. SAM)
Besides the occasional surprise offensive performance on behalf of the Lions, rostering starting pitchers against the bats of Samsung has predominantly an effective strategy, and doesn’t appear to be a bad one in electing trust to Min Ho Lee. Especially considering it was the one game start he’s had previously that paid off beyond value ($5,000 on 5/21, much like this Tuesday morning’s slate).
Threading for 5 1/3 innings scoreless against the inconsistent Samsung offense, Min Ho Lee provided 17 DraftKings Fantasy Points at bare minimum pricing (and could have been more sans any of the four walks he issued). Despite the very limited sample size, Lee clings to an impressive 0.857 WHIP as the 18-year old looks to achieve a similar spotlight as he did just over ten days ago.
Given the circumstances mentioned, Min Ho Lee will in all likelihood be in many-a-pairings with stud Odrisamer Despaigne and Jae Hak Lee throughout tournaments for Tuesday, and it shouldn’t be a surprise with the price tag surpassed by several batters as well.
Drew Rucinski, NC Dinos (vs. SK)
Although he only managed to manufacture sub-mediocre fantasy totals earlier in the season in his first meeting with the Wyverns, Drew Rucinski is looking to right the ship in this second effort against SK later this series (Wed/Thurs).
Following with two mostly solid performances in the starts thereafter (despite taking the L for allowing merely two earned runs against Samsung), the Dinos right-hander has gone over 100 pitches in his past three starts and combined for 18 strikeouts (16 of them in the past two outings).
Donning a confident 1.18 WHIP in 2020, along with a 22.6% strikeout percentage, Rucinski should be able to make clean work out of a second matchup with the Wyverns, as they’re currently striking out the third-most of all KBO teams with 171 strikeouts this season.
Pricing will determine a share of the ownership naturally, especially considering the not-quite-perfect 2020 resume on paper for Rucinski. I’m hoping for a bit of spend-up required in the option of rostering Drew, as ownership should be slightly mitigated if so (depending on the other SPs on the given slate).
Other Pitchers I Will Be Rostering This Work Week:
Tuesday:
-Jae Hak Lee, NCD
-Odrisamer Despaigne, KTW
-Hyun Hee Han, KIW
-Tae In Won, SAM (CONTRARIAN)
-Ki Young Im, KIA
Wednesday:
-Sung Young Choi, NCD
-Casey Kelly, LG
-Warwick Saupold, HAN
-Young Gun Jo, KIW
-Geon Wook Lee, SK (CONTRARIAN)
Thursday:
-Eric Jokisch, KIW
-Aaron Brooks, KIA
-Raul Alcantara, DOO
-Chan Heon Jung, LG
-Tae Hoon Kim, SK (CONTRARIAN)
-Min Woo Kim, HAN (CONTRARIAN)
Stacks
While I will be getting to just about stacks from every team in the next three days, the following are going to be favorites that I’ll be chasing for a variety of reasons rolled into one ranking (in numerical order):