This article is part of our DraftKings KBO series.
The Wiz led the way at the plate on Saturday's KBO slate, with Baek Ho Kang reaching base four times, scoring two runs and driving in two more in the league leaders' 11-2 blowout win over the last-place Eagles. Elsewhere, the top-ranked Landers lineup got plenty of production from unexpected places, with the team's final five hitters combining for nine hits, seven runs and seven RBI in a 8-2 win over the Giants. On the pitching side, the Dinos' 2-1 victory over the Twins featured an unexpected pitchers' duel, with Jun Hyeung Lim and Myung Gi Song combining to allow one run on seven hits in 10 innings of work.
Eight games will be played Sunday. DraftKings typically doesn't include games that are part of doubleheaders in its KBO contests, but doing so Sunday would leave us with just a two-game slate. Instead, the first half of all three doubleheaders will be included, leaving us with a set of five games that all begin at 1:00 a.m. ET.
Pitchers
It's rare that Eric Jokisch ($8,200) has merely the fourth-highest price tag on a given slate, so he's the clear top choice here. He stumbled a bit in mid-September, allowing four runs in consecutive starts, but he's since sorted things out and has gone on an excellent three-start run, allowing a combined two earned runs on 12 hits in 20 innings of work. He now owns a 2.61 ERA, the third-best mark among pitchers who have thrown at least 100 innings. He'll have to pitch in hitter-friendly Daegu Samsung Lions Park on Sunday, but he'll get to do so against a mediocre Lions lineup that ranks sixth in scoring.
The best reason to skip Jokisch is that you'd rather go with David Buchanan ($8,000) instead, another pitcher who's confusingly affordable. He'll also be pitching in the league's most hitter-friendly park, but he hasn't had any trouble pitching there this season, posting a 2.39 ERA at home compared to a 3.71 mark on the road. Buchanan, like Jokisch, had a bit of a bumpy stretch in September, but he's also riding a run on three straight strong starts, giving up four runs on 15 hits in 20 innings while striking out 19 and walking just three. He should be able to shut down the fifth-ranked Heroes lineup despite the hitter-friendly venue.
If you're worried about Daegu Samsung Lions Park and not worried about spending a bit more cash, Drew Rucinski ($9,500) deserves a look. He's coming off a poor outing, as he allowed six runs on nine hits in four innings Tuesday against the Heroes, but that was very much an outlier compared to his recent run of performances. Over his previous eight starts, he'd recorded a 1.62 ERA and 0.82 WHIP. His 2.93 ERA on the season is the best mark of his three-year KBO career, as are his 1.16 WHIP and 22.9 percent strikeout rate. He should rebound quickly Sunday against a Twins lineup which ranks eighth in runs per game.
Top Targets
Jae Hoon Choi ($4,700) has been one of the more interesting catchers all season if you want to avoid the crowd that always surrounds Eui Ji Yang (who's a perfectly usable option here, as always). Much of Choi's value comes from his lineup position, as he's locked into the second spot in the Eagles' order, a far better spot than most catchers usually occupy. He's also having quite a good season at the plate, however, as his .784 OPS, the product of a .270/.402/.382 slash line, ranks fourth among regular backstops. He's raised that number with a strong recent run at the plate, as he owns a .956 OPS and a 6:3 BB:K over his last 10 games. He should stay hot Sunday against William Cuevas, who owns a mediocre 4.38 ERA on the season.
Sung Bum Na ($4,500) has been in a bit of a slump lately, going .208/.240/.313 at the plate over his last 12 games. That could drive others away from him despite the fact that his price tag has slipped into a rather affordable range for a hitter of his talents, however. Given his matchup Sunday against young Twins righty Min Ho Lee, though, it seems like a good time to bet on him turning things around, as Lee owns a 9.45 ERA, 1.80 WHIP and 9:9 K:BB over his last four appearances. Even after Na's recent poor stretch, he still owns a .280/.339/.514 slash line on the season
Bargain Bats
The Giants as a whole all seem a bit too cheap on this slate, but perhaps none moreso than Jun Woo Jeon ($3,900), who's about $500 more affordable than he's been for most of the month. It's hard to see why his price tag deserves to drop, as he has 10 hits over his last four games. While he's been particularly excellent in the immediate past, his hot streak really stretches back nearly a month, as he's hit an incredible .495 over his last 21 contests. There's little reason that run will come to an end Sunday against Landers righty Sam Gaviglio, who's struggled to a 6.34 ERA in his first 12 KBO starts.
Han Joon Yoo ($2,300) isn't the player he was at his peak, when he hit .362/.430/.579 for the Heroes back in 2015, but he still has plenty to offer at age 40. In 93 games this season, he's hit .300/.420/.392, numbers that are far too good for his near-minimum price to make much sense. He's been particularly hot over his last four games, going 7-for-13 at the plate with a homer, four RBI and five runs scored. He offers an inexpensive way to grab a piece of one of the best lineups in the league and will get the platoon advantage against Eagles lefty Ryan Carpenter, who's struggled to a 7.51 ERA in eight outings since the beginning of September.
Stacks to Consider
Bears vs. Min Woo Lee: Jose Fernandez ($4,900), Jae Hwan Kim ($4,600), Soo Bin Jung ($3,800)
Lee has thrown 49 innings this season, but that says far more about the state of the Tigers' pitching staff than it does about Lee himself. In 10 starts and four relief appearances, he owns a 9.00 ERA, and the rest of his statline doesn't get much prettier. Nothing about his 1.94 WHIP, 1.5 HR/9 or 25:26 are anything close to good. While this is the worst of Lee's five KBO seasons, it's not like the previous versions of Lee are reliable, either, as he struggled to a 6.79 ERA and 1.66 WHIP last season. The third-ranked Bears lineup should be able to tee off on him early, and they're unlikely to let up against the long relievers of a pitching staff which has allowed more runs than any other team this season. You could go in many different directions for this stack, but we'll go here with the team's top three left-handed bats, though you could certainly consider swapping in Kun Woo Park ($4,700) for either Fernandez or Kim, who haven't been at their best lately.
Landers vs. Seung Heon Lee: Shin Soo Choo ($5,300), Jeong Choi ($5,200), Yoo Seom Han ($4,400)
Lee is on what counts as a hot streak compared to the way most of his season has gone, though it's not as if his 4.20 ERA and 10:6 K:BB over his last three starts is anything to be intimidated by. He still owns a 5.18 ERA on the season through 10 starts and three relief appearances, and the reset of his statline suggests he's lucky to own even that mark. It comes with a 1.83 WHIP, a 12.0 percent strikeout rate and a 14.6 percent walk rate. Most of the batters in the top-ranked Landers lineup are playable here, but it's hard not to pay up for Shin Soo Choo and Jeong Choi, both of whom own an OPS north of 1.100 over their last 10 games. We'll pair them with Yoo Seom Han, a mid-priced outfielder who's been nearly as hot, posting a 1.067 OPS over his last 10 contests.
