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
Player News
Phillies INF prospect Otto Kemp went 2-for-3 with a walk and a solo home run for Triple-A Lehigh Valley on Sunday.
Kemp now has seven home runs on the season and is hitting .313 with a 1.072 OPS. More importantly, he has played games at 2B, 3B, LF, and 1B for Lehigh Valley this season, which means the Phillies could eventually call him up as a super utility player. His primary position is third base, so he could be an option there if Alec Bohm continues to struggle, but Kemp his 16 home runs and stole 20 bases in the minors last year, so there is some power and speed here if he ever gets a shot.
Cardinals RHP prospect Michael McGreevy allowed three runs on four hits in 3 2/3 innings for Triple-A Memphis on Sunday.
McGreevy struck out four and walked three on the day and is now sporting a 4.08 ERA, 1.29 WHIP, and 25/7 K/BB ratio in 28 2/3 innings this season. The right-hander almost won a rotation spot out of spring training, and the Cardinals’ starting pitching has really struggled of late, so there is a window for him to push his way into the big league rotation. However, he’s going to have to pitch a little better to force St. Louis’ hand.
White Sox 1B prospect Tim Elko went 2-for-5 with a walk, two home runs, four RBI, and three runs scored for Triple-A Charlotte on Sunday.
The White Sox’s hulking first base prospect now has nine home runs and 20 RBI on the season while slashing .354/.432/.732 in 23 games at Triple-A. He’s also sporting a 28 percent strikeout rate and has always had strikeout rates around 30 percent in the minors, which likely means he will struggle to hit for a good average at the big league level. That said, the 26-year-old is a career .292 hitter in the minors and probably deserves a shot at some big league at-bats soon.
Cubs 3B prospect Matt Shaw went 2-for-5 with a double and a home run for Triple-A Iowa on Sunday.
Shaw has gotten off to a slow start at Iowa, hitting just 5-for-26 in his first seven games. However, he has five walks and just one strikeout, and will most likely quickly show that he is too talented to remain at that level for long. It may just take another few weeks before that works itself out, which makes him hard to stash in most league types.
The Athletic’s Chandler Rome reports that "[Chas] McCormick’s spot on the major-league roster has never felt more tenuous.”
The 30-year-old McCormick is slashing .318/.423/.364 on the season but has been limited to just 29 plate appearances, and the Astros have also said that Cam Smith will start taking fly balls in centerfield. As Rome points out, “The entire premise of carrying McCormick centered on his ability to back up Jake Meyers in center field and serve as a late-game defensive replacement for Smith or Altuve in the corners.” If the Astros don’t need McCormick as a late-game defensive replacement and Zach Dezenzo begins to show more offensive promise, there is little need for McCormick on the roster. Rome adds, “The act of exposing Smith to center field accentuates how far McCormick has fallen in the organizational hierarchy. That he has taken 19 plate appearances since April 3 — and sacrifice-bunted during two of them — further demonstrates his standing.”
The Athletic’s Chandler Rome reports that the chances of Hunter Brown agreeing to a contract extension with Houston as “narrow, if not nonexistent.”
That’s not to say that Brown is leaving the Astros, but Rome believes it’s a near certainty that Brown will test the free agent market and try to command a big payday. Something we probably could have pieced together when he changed his agent and hired Scott Boras. According to Rome, “Brown was interested in an extension last spring, but talks with Houston’s front office never materialized into anything substantial.” At the time, Brown had a 4.60 ERA across 176 MLB innings, so it’s understandable that the Astros were uncertain, but they’re probably kicking themselves now.