With all three games of this weekend’s series featured on ESPN, try to check out first place NC Dinos take on Doosan if you get the chance. NC took the first game fueled by three straight bunts in the eighth inning. Second place Kiwoom lost 8-6 snapping its win streak at eight games while hosting Kia and Samsung leapfrogged Lotte in the standings winning in extra-innings on the road against the Giants.
As for individual accolades on Friday, one cannot ignore the season by Mel Rojas Jr. of the KT Wiz. He launched his 16th home run during a loss and not only leads the KBO in the category, but through 46 contests leads in each component of the Triple Crown with 46 RBI and a .383 batting average. Plus:
Each #KBO teams have approx 100 games left in the season, and it’s still too early but, @melrojasjr is now the leading candidate for MVP! https://t.co/8EndZq29Tf
— Daniel Kim ??? ? (@DanielKimW) June 26, 2020
Part of the allure of the KBO lies in its unbridled joy in playing the game from bat flips, to pitchers tipping their hats when hitting a batter and even the umpires:
Umpire Slow Mo Cam: Nails the pitch and check out that punch-out technique. ???? pic.twitter.com/7SlqQyCvob
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) June 26, 2020
A full slate of games on Friday yielded some other top performances of note.
Starting Pitcher Spotlight
Geon-wook Lee of SK hurled six hitless and shutout innings needing only 90 pitches giving up three walks and striking out three inducing some ugly swings:
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— tanaka13????(??????)?? (@tanaka19960727) June 26, 2020
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Trying to retool his arsenal, Lee lowered his ERA this year to 2.78 and in his seventh start won his second game while recording his second quality start as well.
Tae-in Won of Samsung received a no-decision working 6.2 innings allowing five hits, one earned run and one walk with three strikeouts. His bullpen let him down but Won’s stuff continues to improve this year:
First, his slider:
Won Tae-in, 84mph de-helmet-ing Slider. ???? pic.twitter.com/sNEZ89Nm0a
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) June 26, 2020
And his change-up:
Won Tae-in, Double Taz Changeup ab. ?????????? pic.twitter.com/ntsTeHLrsa
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) June 26, 2020
Won finishes June with a 2-1 record and a 2.85 ERA over 28.2 innings.
Quality start machine Warwick Saupold notched his eighth in 2020 in 10 starts along with winning his fifth game logging six innings yielding seven this, three earned runs and a walk with six strikeouts. Saupold moved to 5-4 with a 41:11 K:BB in 64.1 innings this season.
Fueled by his offense, Drew Gagnon registered his fourth win, throwing 5.1 innings giving up eight hits, three runs (two earned) and two walks with three strikeouts.
Hitter Highlights
NC Dinos
Min-woo Park (2B) - Racked up three hits including a triple, drove in three runs and scored once during five at-bats.
Eui-ji Yang (C) - Reached three times in four plate appearances with two hits and a walk.
Aaron Altherr (OF) - Went 2-for-3 with three runs, a double, an RBI and stole his eighth base.
Kia Tigers
Hyung-woo Choi (DH) - Blasted his eighth home run among three hits including a double driving in four runs. Choi’s hit safely in nine of his last 10 contests and homered in back-to-back games.
Joo-hwan Na (3B) - Tallied three hits with a double, his fourth home run and two RBI in five at-bats. This marks his third consecutive multi-hit game.
Hanwha Eagles
Yong-kyu Lee (OF) - Recorded three hits in five at-bats with a run and a double.
Eun-won Jung (2B) - Heating up again with two more hits, a run, RBI and walked. Jung’s on a modest five-game hit streak with multiple hits in three of them.
Tae-kyun Kim (1B) - Went 2-for-4 with a run and two RBI. He’s hit safely in five of his last six games driving in six runs in them.
Sung-yeol Lee (DH) - Added two hits in four at-bats with three RBI.
SK Wyverns
Jeong Choi (3B) - Reached twice on two walks and scored two runs despite going hitless in two at-bats.
Jamie Romak (1B) - Cracked his eighth home run among two hits driving in three while scoring two runs. Romak’s heating up hitting safely in six of his last seven contests with two home runs and seven RBI in them.
Kiwoom Heroes
Keon-chang Seo (2B) - Entering this game with a career .313 average, Seo went 4-for-5 with a double, triple, a run scored and swiped his 11th base. After a mini-slump early this month, Seo may be on the precipice of a hot streak.
Ha-seong Kim (SS) - Finished 1-for-4 with an RBI, walked and stole his seventh base.
Jung-hoo Lee (OF) - Went 2-for-5 with a run and a double. Lee’s second in the KBO in batting average (.382).
Jeong-hyeop Heo (1B) - Hit his third home run driving in three and walked in five plate appearances.
Hye-sung Kim (SS) - Added his fifth home run, a solo shot during a 2-for-5 game.
Samsung Lions
Hak-Ju Lee (SS) - Staying hot, Lee went 3-for-5 with a run, double, two RBI and stole his third base. He’s recorded seven multi-hit games his last 11 played and hitting .329 this month with 14 RBI. More intriguing, Lee hit cleanup for Samsung in this contest.
Sang-su Kim (2B) - A pinch hit double in the 10th provided his team with the go ahead run en route to a win over Lotte. Kim also scored.
Sung-gon Lee (1B) - Blasted his first home run going 2-for-3 with an RBI.
Lotte Giants
Hoon Jung (2B) - Went 1-for-4 with a run, double and walked.
Jun-woo Jeon (OF) - Launched his ninth home run driving in two in five at-bats.
Doosan Bears
Kyoung-min Hur (3B) - Remained at leadoff going 2-for-4 on Friday.
Jose Miguel Fernandez (DH) - Finished 2-for-4 with a run, double and an RBI.
Jae-il Oh (1B) - Shaking off some rust, Oh recorded three hits in four at-bats with an RBI.
After all five games played without any weather concerns, here’s the updated standings:
?June 26th? Game scores for today!
— KBO (@KBOleague) June 26, 2020
? Check out the latest KBO standings ????#KBO #KBOLeague #scores #standings pic.twitter.com/zduFN7BQWR
Be sure to stay with Fantasy Alarm across all formats to remain ahead of the competition and be well.
Statistical Credits
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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.