Weather reigned supreme on Wednesday morning with four of five KBO contests cancelled. Only Hanwha faced Samsung on the slate with a Lions walk-off win moving its win streak to four while the Eagles lost their third straight. Hanwha’s closer, Woo-ram Jung could not record the two scoreless innings required to notch his sixth save, blowing his second save chance of the season.
With four games postponed, it remains to be seen if all four will play their scheduled doubleheaders on Thursday but reporter Jeeho Yoo:
#KBO double headers: in this compressed season, KBO clubs will play double headers in case of rainouts so that they can get the full 144 games into a tighter window than usual. Rules are complicated. I'll try to explain them in this thread. So bear with me.
— Jeeho Yoo (@Jeeho_1) June 24, 2020
For those interested, Yoo notes if the first or second game of a series gets postponed, they will attempt to make up in a doubleheader on the next day. If the third game of a series, the cancelled game would be made up in the second game of a series between the two teams in a future match-up. However, with league rules prohibiting doubleheaders in July or August, this pushes the makeup game(s) into September. Last, a game called on a Sunday could be made up on a Monday going forward as well. There will not be a quiz later on all of this information and if you click the link above, the thread covers all of this in detail.
As for the KBO, injury news took over the landscape with only one game completed. Doosan activated Jae-il Oh to their roster. Prior to his injury, Oh slashed .353/.431/.608 over 116 plate appearances with five home runs and 28 RBI in 28 contests. This only makes their lineup deeper in the midst of a five-game win streak.
On the other end of the spectrum, Samsung lost Tyler Saladino from the active roser with lingering back issues. He’s surged this month hitting .326 in 19 games spanning 55 at-bats with five doubles, three home runs, 14 RBI and five stolen bases. Remember, a player can return at any time off the injured list but Saladino may need to sit out through the weekend.
Last, the LG Twins placed all-time KBO hits leader Yong-taik Park on the injured list with a hamstring injury. He’s projected to miss four weeks and weakens the lineup around Roberto Ramos meaning he may see even fewer pitches to hit going forward.
Before delving into the only game on Wednesday, this tweet from Sports Info Solutions only cements how well Mel Rojas Jr. takes advantage of pitches this year. He currently leads the KBO in home runs (14), sits tied for first in RBI (40) and third in batting average (.385):
Mel Rojas Jr. leads KBO in hard-hit rate
— Sports Info Solutions (@SportsInfo_SIS) June 23, 2020
BA by Pitch Type
Fastball- .405
Splitter- .412
Curveball- .316
Slider- .381
Changeup .320
When an AB ends with a pitch over middle-third of plate (widthwise)
.553 BA, 21 hits, 8 HR
Make a mistake, he makes you pay!
In a previous Week in Review on the KBO on Fantasy Alarm, we highlighted Rojas Jr.’s ability to mash pitches in the middle and in the lower third of the strike zone. Here’s an update on his zone profile with slugging percentage on display:
It will be intriguing to see if Rojas Jr. can make a run at the KBO triple crown as the season ensues. Stay tuned. Now it’s time to review the top performances in the only game on Wednesday.
Starting Pitcher Spotlight
During a no-decision, Hanwha’s Shi-hwan Jang recorded a career high nine strikeouts over five innings of work giving up seven hits, one earned run and two walks against Samsung. Check out this pitch:
A couple Filthy Curveballs from Jang Si-hwan. ???? pic.twitter.com/Uo4vZNBRxg
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) June 24, 2020
He’s been volatile start-to-start this season but could be someone to target in future DFS contests against weaker offenses with a propensity to swing and miss.
Hitter Highlights
Hanwha Eagles
- Jae-hoon Choi (C) - Went 4-for-4 with a solo home run, his second of the season. Flying well below the radar, Choi’s turned his season around this month hitting .326 with six runs, two home runs and four RBI in 18 games. More interesting, he’s walked (six) more than he’s struck out this month (three). Plus, look at this bat flip:
MyKBO's Home Run Bat-Flip of the Day featuring Choi Jae-hoon pic.twitter.com/9WA03X68Jz
— Dan Kurtz (@MyKBO) June 24, 2020
- Tae-kyun Kim (1B) - Reached base three times with a double and two walks in four plate appearances driving in a run. Like his teammate, Kim’s improved with a .306 average in June with eight of his 19 hits going for extra-bases (six doubles, two home runs). Plus, for the DFS crowd, Kim crushes southpaws with a .406 average against them this year with two doubles, two home runs and four walks against two strikeouts.
Samsung Lions
- Hae-min Park (OF) - Moved into second in the lineup with Saladino out, Park went 1-for-3 with two runs and walked twice. Park’s on a modest three-game hit streak but with two home runs and four RBI in them.
- Ja-wook Koo (OF) - Racked up four hits in five at-bats with an RBI and two stolen bases (5,6). Koo improved his batting average to .340 on the season with four home runs and six steals in 25 games.
- Hak-Ju Lee (SS) - Recorded a multi-hit game going 2-for-5 with an RBI. He’s hitting .323 in June over 62 at-bats spanning 20 contests.
With the walk-off win, Samsung leapfrogged Lotte in the standings:
?June 24th? Game scores for today!
— KBO (@KBOleague) June 24, 2020
? Check out the latest KBO standings ????#KBO #KBOLeague #scores #standings pic.twitter.com/AyB89Z9WBK
Noting the weather concerns, it’s monsoon season in South Korea so it could be volatile predicting which games will play on a daily basis. As of now, the Kia at Lotte doubleheader comes with some rain issues and Samsung’s game against Hanwha also appears risky. Be sure to stay with Fantasy Alarm to remain ahead of the competition across all fantasy formats and be well.
Statistical Credits:
myKBOstats.com
Eng.koreabaseball.com