On a slate dominated by runs fueled by leaky bullpens, the KBO kicked off its third week of games. Fans remain banned from attending Korean sporting events, but teams continue to find ways to fill the seats, some with less controversy than others:
Imagine if they had a mascot referred to as 'Swole Daddy'... https://t.co/EK4dZ8kuD2
— Dan Kurtz (@MyKBO) May 18, 2020
At least this move by the SK Wyverns will not make anyone uneasy:
Radishes are placed in the SK vs NC match.
— ???/KBO and Baseball Analyst (@J_J_Hyeok92) May 17, 2020
Radish is "?" in Korean.
"?" means Radish and "Nothing it (?)"
"Audience" is "??" in Korean.
? ?? = Nothing Audience
? ?? = Radish Audience? ????
This radishes even sits one space apart to prevent Corona 19???? pic.twitter.com/svzIyU3AUd
With runs come home runs making choosing starting pitchers a risky venture during Tuesday’s contests. Four of the ten teams recorded double digits in runs, and the NC Dinos escaped with another one run victory. Here’s the action worth noting in today’s Round Up.
Starting Pitcher Spotlight
Kia’s Min-woo Lee won his second decision working six innings giving up four hits, two earned runs and three walks with six strikeouts. This marks his first quality outing of the season.
William Cuevas finished allowing five hits, four earned runs and a walk while striking out seven in 6.1 innings. His first win this year looked nicer before his return to the mound in the seventh. Tiring in the top of the inning, Cuevas yielded a hit, hit a batter, recorded a strikeout, and then a run scoring single before being lifted. Both inherited runners came around to score with the Wiz bullpen ceding nine runs in the half-inning. Focus on Cuevas’ 16:5 K:BB with a 1.04 WHIP rather than his bloated ERA.
Chang-gyu Lim moved to 2-0 on the season tossing six innings giving up seven hits, four earned runs, and a walk with six strikeouts. His ERA rose to 3.75 but he owns an enticing 13:1 K:BB with a 1.08 after two starts.
Although the NC Dinos helped Mike Wright garner his second win, he issued as many walks (five) as strikeouts (five) yielding four hits but no earned runs over his five innings. Wright’s 1.69 ERA comes with a 16:8 K:BB and 1.31 WHIP. He needs to attack hitters more to depress traffic on the bases if he is to succeed the second time around the league. Dinos reliever Jong-hyun Won notched his KBO leading fifth save getting the last four outs of the game with two strikeouts while giving up one hit.
Hitter Highlights
KT Wiz
One of the headliners of the DFS playbook, Baek-ho Kang went 3-for-4 with two runs, a double, tied for the league lead with his fifth home run, drove in three and walked in five plate appearances. Better yet, Kang’s gaining the nickname of “Korean Papi” at the tender age of 20 flourishing so far with a robust .367/.500/.833 slash line while hitting safely in each of his first 12 contests. Here’s the other notable hitters from the Wiz’s slate leading 13 run out-burst.
- Woo-jun Sim (SS) - Went 2-for-5 with an RBI and a walk.
- Min-hyeok Kim (OF) - Also tallied a 2-for-5 day with his second home run and drove in three.
- Jung-ho Jo (DH) - Finished with two hits in four at-bats with three runs and a walk.
- Mel Rojas Jr. (OF) - Scored three runs with a hit in three at-bats and a walk.
- Jae-Gyun Hwang (3B) - Racked up three hits in five at-bats with a run, double, triple and an RBI. He moved his average to .300 on the season in the process.
Hanwha Eagles
- Sung-yeol Lee (DH) - Hit his first home run of 2020 going 1-for-5 with two runs and two RBI.
- Hae-chang Lee (C) - Entered as a pinch hitter, Lee also blasted his first home run with three RBI, scored two runs and reached via a hit-by-pitch.
Kiwoom Heroes
- Jung-hoo Lee (OF) - Continuing to heat up, Lee went 3-for-4 with a run, double, two RBI and walked. He’s now slashing .404/.473/.766 this year.
- Dong-won Park (C) - Launched his third home run and drove in three on two hits over five at-bats. Park’s now hitting .297 with a .955 on-base plus slugging percentage.
Kia Tigers
- Sun-bin Kim (2B) - Sparked the Tigers offense from the leadoff spot going 4-for-5 with a run and two RBI.
- Preston Tucker (OF) - Racked up two more hits with two runs scored and a walk moving within .004 percentage points of Jose Miguel Fernandez for the KBO lead in batting average. Tucker’s slashing .449/.518/.878 with 43 total bases so far.
- Ji-wan Na (OF) - Went 2-for-3 with a run, his third home run, an RBI and walked. He’s now hitting .317/.391/.610 with a home run in two of his last three games while recording multiple in each of them.
- Seung-taek Han (C) - Recorded a 2-for-4 day with his first home run, a solo shot.
LG Twins
- Chun-woong Lee (OF) - Tallied two hits in four at-bats with three runs, his first home run, two RBI and walked.
- Roberto Ramos (1B) - Still vastly underpriced in DFS, Ramos also moved into a tie for the league lead crushing his fifth home run among two hits with a double, three RBI and a walk. He’s now hitting .400/.500/.875 during his debut season in the KBO, not too shabby.
- Ji-hwan Oh (SS) - Joined the home run fray on Tuesday hitting his first of the year.
Samsung Lions
- Ja-wook Koo (OF) - Not just a cool name, Koo went 2-for-4 with two runs, his first home run, a double and two RBI. Koo’s quietly hitting a cool .320.414/.560 for the struggling Lions.
- Min-ho Kang (C) - Kang racked up two hits in four at-bats with his first home run of the year driving in one.
SK Wyverns
- Kang-min Kim (OF) - Tallied two hits in five at-bats including his first home run of 2020 and drove in three.
NC Dinos
- Min-woo Park (2B) - Hitting atop the Dinos lineup, Park sets the table well. On Tuesday, he scored two runs with a double and walked twice. Park’s fourth in the KBO in batting average (.417) with six walks versus one strikeout through 54 plate appearances. He’s not struck out in 50 plate appearances and recorded 11 hits his last five contests.
- Sung-bum Na (OF) - Went 2-for-5 with a run and an RBI.
While runs ruled the day on Tuesday, Wednesday’s match-ups could lean more towards the pitchers. Looking to bounce back, Doosan sends Chris Flexen versus NC Dinos “ace” Chang-mo Koo. Tyler Wilson (LG Twins) looks to build on his last outing with seven strikeouts in six innings. Also, can Drew Gagnon (Kia) overcome his early inning struggles to cash in on his strikeout potential and keep tabs on who Lotte sends to the mound?
Be sure to stay with Fantasy Alarm across all formats. James Grande will rock out the playbook for the KBO later today while Matt Selz and Dan Malin update the upcoming NASCAR race at Darlington on Wednesday.
Statistical Credits:
myKBOstats.com
eng.koreabaseball.com
Player News
Red Sox SS prospect Marcelo Mayer went 3-for-7 with a walk, six RBI, four runs scored, and a home run during a doubleheader for Triple-A Worcester on Sunday.
The Red Sox’s second-ranked prospect is now hitting .280/.324/.548 with seven home runs, 34 RBI, 17 runs scored, and one steal in 23 games at Triple-A. He also had a great spring training and seems MLB-ready, but Trevor Story has been great for the Red Sox to start the season, and Kristian Campbell is the AL Rookie of the Year frontrunner right now at second base, so there is no room in the middle infield for Mayer as it stands.
Jordan Lawlar went 2-for-5 with a double, two RBI, two runs, and a steal for Triple-A Reno on Sunday.
It’s getting a bit silly at this point. Lawlar is one of the top prospects in all of baseball and is slashing .356/.451/.644 in 26 games with five home runs, 26 RBI, 29 runs scored, and 12 steals. He has started playing third base in Triple-A as well, which could create a full-time spot for him in Arizona with Eugenio Suarez moving to DH. Lawlar should be up relatively soon and deserves to be stashed in all league types.
Twins RHP prospect Zebby Matthews allowed two runs on two hits in 4 2/3 innings for Triple-A St. Paul on Sunday.
He struck out five but walked four on the day and threw just 48 of his 84 pitches for strikes. It was clearly not a great day for Matthews, but even so, he was able to mitigate any major damage and still missed plenty of bats. He has a 1.93 ERA and 29/7 K/BB ratio in 23 1/3 innings, so the control hasn’t been a problem for him aside from this one start. However, this outing could delay his call-up by another week or so.
Carter Kieboom went 3-for-5 with two RBI on Sunday for Triple-A Salt Lake.
Yes, that Carter Kieboom. Still just 27 years old, the former Nationals prospect has been scalding hot for the Angels at Triple-A this season, slashing .373/.417/.642 with five home runs, 12 RBI, and three steals in 17 games. He has played 1B, 2B, and 3B for Salt Lake and could be in line for a call-up if the Angels decide to let slumping Kyren Paris figure things out at Triple-A. If Kieboom does get called up, only Kevin Newman and Tim Anderson would stand in the way of him and playing time for the Angels.
Esteury Ruiz went 2-for-5 with one run and three steals for Triple-A Oklahoma City on Sunday.
The Dodgers acquired Ruiz from the Athletics at the beginning of April, and the 26-year-old is slashing .306/.411/.468 with one home run and 13 steals in 18 games. He also has 17 strikeouts and has a reputation as a below-average defender, which has made it hard for him to get on the field. Ruiz would likely need an injury to Michael Conforto or Andy Pages to get another shot at the big leagues, but if he does, his speed could be a major asset in this Dodgers’ lineup.
Athletics OF prospect Denzel Clarke went 2-for-4 with a walk, double, a triple, two runs scored, and two RBI for Triple-A Las Vegas on Sunday.
The A’s outfield is getting incredibly crowded with talented young players. Tyler Soderstrom has shifted to the outfield alongside Lawrence Butler and JJ Bleday, but Denzel Clarke is also waiting in the wings at Triple-A and slashing .295/.426/.455 with 10 RBI and two steals in 13 games. Clarke also had 13 home runs and 36 steals at Double-A last year while playing strong defense in center field, so he could push Bleday this summer if the 27-year-old doesn’t start picking up the production a bit.