Thursday provided the potential for the KBO to set a league record with nine games on tap. However, weather had other ideas resulting in the scheduled Kia at Lotte doubleheader being rained out. Both games will be made up in September per league rules banning double dips in July or August due to high temperature concerns leading to fatigue issues. As for the other seven games, three double headers finished with two splits along with Kiwoom extending its win streak to eight in grand fashion sweeping the LG Twins on the road and moving the Twins losing skid to six straight:
#KBO home run: Park Byung-ho of Kiwoom Heroes with a massive grand slam in top 9th vs. LG Twins to for an 8-5 lead. The Twins intentionally walked Lee Jung-hoo (dangerous, yes) to get to Park (0-for-4 with 3Ks in the game, 0-for-4 with bases loaded this season before the slam)
— Jeeho Yoo (@Jeeho_1) June 25, 2020
Within a wild slate of games, prayers for SK’s manager who collapsed during Game 1 against Doosan:
KBO club manager falls unconscious during game https://t.co/jSkqwNhqk8
— Yonhap News Agency (@YonhapNews) June 25, 2020
In this follow-up tweet later in the morning, it appears he’s on the road to recovery:
#KBO news: update on SK manager Youm Kyoung-youb, who fell unconscious during a game vs. Doosan Thursday: he has regained his consciousness but will remain hospitalized for further tests. Lack of sleep, insufficient diet and severe stress cited as reasons for his health issues.
— Jeeho Yoo (@Jeeho_1) June 25, 2020
Speaking of wild, not only did Chang-mo Koo of NC lose his quality start streak of eight from the start of the season, his team engaged in a crazy second game in their doubleheader:
#KBO wildness: What in the world is going on in that NC-KT game? KT was up 5-1, then NC tied it 5-5 with 4 runs in top 7th, then KT scores 4 right back in bot. 7th, NC gets a run back in top 8th, and then KT puts up a 10-spot in bot. 8th for a 19-6 lead. 17 hits for KT.
— Jeeho Yoo (@Jeeho_1) June 25, 2020
Despite his rough outing, Koo still leads the KBO in ERA (1.37), WHIP (0.76) and strikeouts (65) after yielding only five earned runs over his first 55 innings prior to his four allowed in four innings in Game 2. His hold on the strikeout lead seems tenuous with Lotte’s Dan Straily getting his start rained out but he should return to the mound on Friday or Saturday against Samsung.
While the MLB gets prepared to set schedules and plan on how to integrate fans at stadiums, the KBO appears on the precipice of fans returning to the stands:
It looks like #KBO will soon have the fans back at the games as early as next Tues. CDC is expected make an announcement this weekend allowing pro teams to sell tickets for the games. 1st phase is expected to be around 25% capacity and gradually increase from there.
— Daniel Kim ??? ? (@DanielKimW) June 25, 2020
With this in mind, here’s the protocol for fans upon return on Tuesday:
According to #KBO manual, tickets will be sold on-line and temps will be checked at the gates. You must wear a mask to enter and medical staff will be present at the stadiums w/ full testing kit. In other words, if a fan shows symptoms, fan(s) will be tested immedly.
— Daniel Kim ??? ? (@DanielKimW) June 25, 2020
In an effort to streamline the top performances from Thursday across the KBO, teams with a doubleheader will include statistics from each game along with the best individual outings intermixed in this Round Up.
Starting Pitcher Spotlight
From the early games, Mike Wright led the way for NC battling for five innings en route to his sixth win giving up five hits, one earned run and four walks with four strikeouts. Here’s an example of his arsenal from the outing:
Mike Wright , Nasty 93mph Front Hip Two Seamer. ???? pic.twitter.com/fymAr1a8lN
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) June 25, 2020
Wright’s still issuing too many free passes but remains among the league leaders in wins (tied for second) despite them.
Seung-ho Lee recorded his first win of the season allowing eight hits and two earned runs striking out three over five innings for Kiwoom. He’s logged two quality starts of his four June starts with a 1.96 ERA in 23 innings in them.
Bum-soo Kim tossed six innings yielding six hits, two earned runs and three walks with seven strikeouts in his second start for Hanwha notching his second win of 2020. Being stretched out to start, Kim may be someone to track going forward after stifling a surging Samsung offense.
In Game 2 for SK, Seung-won Moon fired seven shutout innings giving up four hits and two walks with seven strikeouts. Despite five straight quality outings in a row, Moon’s only 2-2 in them with a minuscule 1.39 ERA and 0.68 WHIP his last 32.1 innings with a 34:9 K:BB. Not too shabby along with shutting out a deep Doosan lineup.
Woo-chan Cha received a no-decision after his bullpen imploded in the ninth inning but tossed six shutout frames versus Kiwoom yielding only one hit and two walks with seven strikeouts. Cha only lasted one inning his last outing giving up eight earned runs but fired a combined 13 scoreless innings against Kiwoom this month. Baseball.
Hitter Highlights
KT Wiz
After singing his praises repeatedly in this column and highlighting his zone profile on Wednesday, Mel Rojas Jr. currently sits in first in all three Triple Crown categories in the KBO. He leads the league in home runs launching his 15th in Game 2 against NC, in batting average (.384) after going 3-for-8 in the two games and tied for first in RBI (43) driving in three on Thursday. Rojas Jr. also tied Jose Miguel Fernandez for the lead in hits (68) and ranks second in runs (38). His teammates also chipped in during a split with the Dinos:
Baek-ho Kang (1B) - Went three for eight in the two games with three runs, an RBI and a walk.
Jae-Gyun Hwang (3B) - Finished 3-for-6 with three runs, a double and two RBI in the doubleheader.
Woo-jun Sim (SS) - Although he went hitless in Game 1 over four at-bats, Sim racked up three hits in five at-bats in Game 2 with a run and drove in four.
Doosan Bears
Kun-woo Park (OF) - Only appeared in Game 1 going 3-for-5 with two runs. He’s notched multiple hits in nine of his last 14 contests.
Jose Miguel Fernandez (1B) - A combined 2-for-8 in the two games with two runs, an RBI and a walk.
Joo Hwan Choi (2B) - Recorded three hits in eight at-bats with a run and a walk.
Jae-hwan Kim (OF) - Launched his 10th home run in Game 1 among his three hits driving in four runs and went 1-for-3 in Game 2 before being lifted. Kim’s now tied for the KBO lead in RBI with Rojas Jr. and nine for his last 17 (.529) with two home runs along with eight RBI his last four contests.
Kyoung-min Hur (3B) - Tallied a double dong day in Game 1 hitting his third and fourth home runs this season driving in three. Went hitless in Game 2 but finished 2-for-7 in the double dip.
Soo-bin Jung (OF) - Racked up three hits in four at-bats in Game 1 batting ninth. Moved to leadoff in Game 2 and went hitless in three at-bats. Baseball.
SK Wyverns
Kyung-ho Kim (OF) - A strong day at the dish going 6-for-9 in two games with three runs, a double and an RBI.
Ji-hoon Choi (OF) - Went 3-for-5 in two contests with three runs, a double, four walks and stole his fourth base in Game 2. Choi’s hit safely in eight of his last nine and continues to be a low priced dart in DFS.
Jeong Choi (3B) - Cracked his eighth home run of 2020 in Game 2 and finished 3-for-8 in the doubleheader with three RBI. Turning his season around this month, Choi’s hitting .324 with six home runs and 12 RBI in 20 games.
Jamie Romak (1B) - Also went 3-for-8 with a run, three RBI and walked.
Kang-min Kim (OF) - Notched multiple hits in both ends of the doubleheader going a combined 5-for-9 with two runs, a triple, hit his fifth home run and drove in four runs total.
Hanwha Eagles
Eun-won Jung (2B) - Tripled and hit his second home run driving in four runs along with a walk in five plate appearances during the Eagles 9-2 win over Samsung.
Jae-hoon Choi (C) - Moved his modest hit streak to three games going 1-for-3 with two runs and two RBI. So far in June, Choi’s batting .327 with eight runs, two home runs and six RBI with more walks (six) than strikeouts (three).
NC Dinos
Sung-bum Na (OF) - During a split in KT, Na hit his 13th home run in Game 1 driving in two and recorded a double with three RBI in Game 2 for a 2-for-6 day with five RBI while drawing two walks. Na moved into a tie for third in RBI in the KBO (40) and a tie for second in home runs (13) as a result.
Jin-hyuk No (SS) - A robust 4-for-6 in two contests with a double, his sixth home run and an RBI in them.
Aaron Altherr (OF) - Hit his 10th home run, a solo shot in Game 1 and appeared late in Game 2 replacing Na during a lopsided loss late.
Kiwoom Heroes
Keon-chang Seo (2B) - Only went 2-for-8 in the two games but scored two runs, drove in one, walked and stole his 10th base.
Ha-seong Kim (SS) - Launched his 10th home run in Game 1 driving in three and finished 2-for-8 with four RBI total in the two games.
Jung-hoo Lee (OF) - Recorded two hits in the first game but hitless in the second. All told, Lee went 2-for-8 with a run, double, RBI and a walk.
Byung-ho Park (1B) - Along with hitting the go ahead grand slam in Game 2, Park finished 2-for-7 with two runs, a double, his 11th home run and four RBI while walking once in each contest.
Byung-woo Jeon (3B) - Scored three runs going 3-for-8 with an RBI.
LG Twins
Keun-woo Jeong (DH) - A perfect 3-for-3 in Game 1 with a run along with a 1-for-2 line in Game 2 atop the Twins lineup.
Hyun-Soo Kim (OF) - Finished 3-for-9 with a run, a double and two RBI in the double dip.
Roberto Ramos (1B) - A respectable 3-for-8 day with two RBI but still no home runs since his return from the injured list on the 18th.
With teams traversing the country to prepare for the weekend sets, here’s the updated standings in the KBO:
?June 25th? Game scores for today!
— KBO (@KBOleague) June 25, 2020
? Check out the latest KBO standings ????#KBO #KBOLeague #scores #standings pic.twitter.com/kEPoZSDNki
ESPN will focus on the upcoming battle for first place with Doosan heading to NC showing all three games this weekend. However, there’s also some intriguing match-ups on Friday through Sunday in the KBO:
Kia Tigers invade Kiwoom in the midst of an eight game win streak
LG carries a six game losing skid into SK
KT heads to Hanwha
Samsung arrives in Lotte to face a rested Dan Straily
Be sure to stay with Fantasy Alarm to remain ahead of the competition in the KBO and 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.