Who Should I Trade?

Braiden Ward for Esmerlyn Valdez (2026)

Summary
Stats
Projections
News & Notes
Schedule

Who Should I Trade? Player Summaries
	Experts' Pick
	Esmerlyn Valdez 1B,LF,RF - PIT	Braiden Ward CF - BOS
Expert Recommendation	100% Recommended by 4 of 4 experts	0% Recommended by 0 of 4 experts
Rankings

Rest of Season	# 167	‐
VBR	# 239	‐

Projections

Runs	18	0
Home Runs	6	0
RBI	20	0
Stolen Bases	0	0
Batting Average	.239	.000

Misc

Injury Alert	-	MiLB

Expert Ranks

Scott Pianowski Yahoo! Sports	# 118	‐

Chris Welsh FantasyPros	# 99	‐

Kelly Kirby FantasyPros	# 188	‐

Kevin Spinelli KevScores	# 128	‐

Who Should I Trade? Player Statistics
	Esmerlyn Valdez 1B,LF,RF - PIT	Braiden Ward CF - BOS
2026 Stats


At Bats	137	‐

Runs	26	‐

Hits	38	‐

Singles	14	‐

Doubles	9	‐

Triples	1	‐

Home Runs	14	‐

RBI	36	‐

Stolen Bases	0	‐

Caught Stealing	1	‐

Walks	20	‐

Strikeouts	56	‐

Batting Average	.277	‐

On Base Pct	.371	‐

Slugging Pct	.664	‐

On-base Plus Slugging	1.035	‐

Who Should I Trade? Player Projections
	Esmerlyn Valdez 1B,LF,RF - PIT	Braiden Ward CF - BOS
2026 Projections


At Bats	130	2

Runs	18	0

Hits	31	0

Singles	18	0

Doubles	6	0

Triples	0	0

Home Runs	6	0

RBI	20	0

Stolen Bases	0	0

Caught Stealing	0	0

Walks	15	0

Strikeouts	43	1

Batting Average	.239	.000

On Base Pct	.322	.000

Slugging Pct	.443	.000

On-base Plus Slugging	.766	.000

Who Should I Trade? Player Notes
	Esmerlyn Valdez 1B,LF,RF - PIT	Braiden Ward CF - BOS
News
	Esmerlyn Valdez is expected to be in the lineup in Tuesday's game against the Diamondbacks. Ari Koslow Tue, Jul 28th
	The Pirates didn’t provide an update on Esmerlyn Valdez following Monday’s game against the Diamondbacks. Ari Koslow Tue, Jul 28th
	Esmerlyn Valdez was removed from Monday’s game against the Diamondbacks after being hit by a pitch on the left hand. Ari Koslow Mon, Jul 27th
	Esmerlyn Valdez went 2-for-3 with a home run in the Pirates 8-7 win over the Cubs on Sunday. Ari Koslow Mon, Jul 27th
	Esmerlyn Valdez went 1-for-3 with a home run in the Pirates 8-5 loss against the Yankees on Monday. Ari Koslow Tue, Jul 21st
Notes
There are no recent notes for these players

Who Should I Trade? Player Schedules
Date	Opp	Opp Pitcher	VBR	Opp	Opp Pitcher	VBR
	Esmerlyn Valdez 1B,LF,RF - PIT			Braiden Ward CF - BOS
Thu, Mar 26th	@ NYM	Freddy Peralta (5-9)	#38	@ CIN	Andrew Abbott (5-6)	#108
Sat, Mar 28th	@ NYM	David Peterson (6-7)	#67	@ CIN	Brady Singer (5-10)	#142
Sun, Mar 29th	@ NYM	Nolan McLean (7-7)	#28	@ CIN	Rhett Lowder (3-7)	#287
Mon, Mar 30th	@ CIN	Chase Burns (12-1)	#27	@ HOU	Lance McCullers Jr. (2-3)	#290
Tue, Mar 31st	@ CIN	Brandon Williamson (2-3)	#330	@ HOU	Hunter Brown (2-1)	#18
Wed, Apr 1st	@ CIN	Andrew Abbott (5-6)	#108	@ HOU	Mike Burrows (4-9)	#227
Fri, Apr 3rd	vs BAL	Kyle Bradish (7-9)	#49	vs SD	Michael King (6-7)	#58
Sat, Apr 4th	vs BAL	Shane Baz (4-9)	#73	vs SD	Randy Vasquez (6-6)	#257
Sun, Apr 5th	vs BAL	Chris Bassitt (4-4)	#261	vs SD	Walker Buehler (6-5)	#217
Mon, Apr 6th	vs SD	German Marquez (4-2)	#357	vs MIL	Brandon Woodruff (2-2)
Tue, Apr 7th	vs SD	Nick Pivetta (1-2)	#107	vs MIL	Jacob Misiorowski (11-4)	#6
Wed, Apr 8th	vs SD	Michael King (6-7)	#58	vs MIL	Shane Drohan (5-4)	#75
Fri, Apr 10th	@ CHC	Shota Imanaga (7-8)	#25	@ STL	Dustin May (5-7)	#55
Sat, Apr 11th	@ CHC	Edward Cabrera (5-4)	#79	@ STL	Kyle Leahy (7-4)	#103
Sun, Apr 12th	@ CHC	Jameson Taillon (2-6)	#171	@ STL	Andre Pallante (11-6)	#115
Mon, Apr 13th	vs WSH	Cade Cavalli (8-4)	#52	@ MIN	Bailey Ober (7-3)	#83
Tue, Apr 14th	vs WSH	PJ Poulin (3-0)	#280	@ MIN	Mick Abel (1-2)
Wed, Apr 15th	vs WSH	Jake Irvin (2-5)	#166	@ MIN	Simeon Woods Richardson (1-7)
Fri, Apr 17th	vs TB	Nick Martinez (10-2)	#95	vs DET	Casey Mize (4-6)	#46
Sat, Apr 18th	vs TB	Drew Rasmussen (9-5)	#20	vs DET	Tarik Skubal (7-5)	#2
Sun, Apr 19th	vs TB	Shane McClanahan (9-6)	#35	vs DET	Framber Valdez (5-7)	#34
Mon, Apr 20th				vs DET	Jack Flaherty (3-8)	#99
Tue, Apr 21st	@ TEX	Kumar Rocker (4-8)	#88	vs NYY	Luis Gil (1-2)	#291
Wed, Apr 22nd	@ TEX	Jack Leiter (3-7)	#123	vs NYY	Max Fried (4-3)	#15
Thu, Apr 23rd	@ TEX	Jacob deGrom (7-6)	#7	vs NYY	Cam Schlittler (10-6)	#14
Fri, Apr 24th	@ MIL	Brandon Woodruff (2-2)		@ BAL	Brandon Young (8-2)	#134
Sat, Apr 25th	@ MIL	Jacob Misiorowski (11-4)	#6	@ BAL	Trevor Rogers (6-7)	#72
Sun, Apr 26th	@ MIL	Kyle Harrison (8-2)	#47	@ BAL	Kyle Bradish (7-9)	#49
Mon, Apr 27th	vs STL	Dustin May (5-7)	#55	@ TOR	Dylan Cease (7-5)	#9
Tue, Apr 28th	vs STL	Kyle Leahy (7-4)	#103	@ TOR	Trey Yesavage (5-5)	#69
Wed, Apr 29th	vs STL	Andre Pallante (11-6)	#115	@ TOR	Eric Lauer (6-5)	#370
Fri, May 1st	vs CIN	Brady Singer (5-10)	#142	vs HOU	Mike Burrows (4-9)	#227
Sat, May 2nd	vs CIN	Rhett Lowder (3-7)	#287	vs HOU	Spencer Arrighetti (7-5)	#279
Sun, May 3rd	vs CIN	Chase Burns (12-1)	#27	vs HOU	Cody Bolton (0-1)	#321
Mon, May 4th				@ DET	Tyler Holton (1-4)	#129
Tue, May 5th	@ ARI	Eduardo Rodriguez (10-3)	#127	@ DET	Framber Valdez (5-7)	#34
Wed, May 6th	@ ARI	Michael Soroka (8-3)	#63	@ DET	Jack Flaherty (3-8)	#99
Thu, May 7th	@ ARI	Zac Gallen (3-9)	#177	vs TB	Griffin Jax (6-8)	#60
Fri, May 8th	@ SF	Robbie Ray (10-6)	#102	vs TB	Jesse Scholtens (5-3)	#358
Sun, May 10th	@ SF	Tyler Mahle (3-9)	#74	vs TB	Nick Martinez (10-2)	#95
Tue, May 12th	vs COL	Michael Lorenzen (3-9)	#433	vs PHI	Zack Wheeler (10-2)	#8
Wed, May 13th	vs COL	Jose Quintana (2-3)	#430	vs PHI	Andrew Painter (1-8)	#215
Thu, May 14th	vs COL	Chase Dollander (3-3)		vs PHI	Jesus Luzardo (9-5)	#12
Fri, May 15th	vs PHI	Aaron Nola (3-9)	#59	@ ATL	Spencer Strider (4-2)	#303
Sat, May 16th	vs PHI	Cristopher Sanchez (13-4)	#4	@ ATL	Bryce Elder (6-6)	#133
Sun, May 17th	vs PHI	Zack Wheeler (10-2)	#8	@ ATL	Grant Holmes (6-4)	#137
Mon, May 18th				@ KC	Seth Lugo (4-6)	#131
Tue, May 19th	@ STL	Matthew Liberatore (5-8)	#125	@ KC	Bailey Falter (0-2)
Wed, May 20th	@ STL	Michael McGreevy (4-9)	#87	@ KC	Michael Wacha (5-7)	#78
Fri, May 22nd	@ TOR	Kevin Gausman (4-10)	#30	vs MIN	Connor Prielipp (3-5)	#98
Sat, May 23rd	@ TOR	Patrick Corbin (3-4)	#313	vs MIN	Taj Bradley (9-4)	#50
Sun, May 24th	@ TOR	Dylan Cease (7-5)	#9	vs MIN	Bailey Ober (7-3)	#83
Tue, May 26th	vs CHC	Jordan Wicks (0-2)	#222	vs ATL	Spencer Strider (4-2)	#303
Wed, May 27th	vs CHC	Jameson Taillon (2-6)	#171	vs ATL	Bryce Elder (6-6)	#133
Thu, May 28th	vs CHC	Colin Rea (8-7)	#176	vs ATL	Chris Sale (12-6)	#5
Fri, May 29th	vs MIN	Taj Bradley (9-4)	#50	@ CLE	Slade Cecconi (4-7)	#132
Sat, May 30th	vs MIN	Bailey Ober (7-3)	#83	@ CLE	Parker Messick (8-6)	#45
Sun, May 31st	vs MIN	Zebby Matthews (4-8)	#104	@ CLE	Tanner Bibee (4-10)	#56
Tue, Jun 2nd	@ HOU	Mike Burrows (4-9)	#227	vs BAL	Shane Baz (4-9)	#73
Wed, Jun 3rd	@ HOU	Spencer Arrighetti (7-5)	#279	vs BAL	Chris Bassitt (4-4)	#261
Thu, Jun 4th	@ HOU	Kai-Wei Teng (5-6)	#262	vs BAL	Trevor Rogers (6-7)	#72
Fri, Jun 5th	@ ATL	Martin Perez (6-6)	#224	@ NYY	Ryan Weathers (4-7)	#57
Sun, Jun 7th	@ ATL	Bryce Elder (6-6)	#133	@ NYY	Cam Schlittler (10-6)	#14
Mon, Jun 8th				@ TB	Ian Seymour (7-3)	#86
Tue, Jun 9th	vs LAD	Eric Lauer (6-5)	#370	@ TB	Nick Martinez (10-2)	#95
Wed, Jun 10th	vs LAD	Shohei Ohtani (8-2)	#1	@ TB	Drew Rasmussen (9-5)	#20
Fri, Jun 12th	vs MIA	Sandy Alcantara (11-6)	#65	vs TEX	Jack Leiter (3-7)	#123
Sat, Jun 13th	vs MIA	Lake Bachar (1-2)	#193	vs TEX	Jacob deGrom (7-6)	#7
Sun, Jun 14th	vs MIA	Max Meyer (9-1)	#77	vs TEX	Nathan Eovaldi (10-8)	#17
Tue, Jun 16th	@ ATH	Jack Perkins (2-6)	#101	vs TOR	Dylan Cease (7-5)	#9
Wed, Jun 17th	@ ATH	Aaron Civale (5-7)	#190	vs TOR	Braydon Fisher (3-3)	#178
Thu, Jun 18th				vs TOR	Trey Yesavage (5-5)	#69
Fri, Jun 19th	@ COL	Kyle Freeland (2-10)	#375	@ SEA	Bryce Miller (4-5)	#39
Sat, Jun 20th	@ COL	Tomoyuki Sugano (10-4)	#434	@ SEA	Emerson Hancock (6-5)	#85
Sun, Jun 21st	@ COL	Michael Lorenzen (3-9)	#433	@ SEA	Logan Gilbert (8-6)	#10
Mon, Jun 22nd				@ COL	Ryan Feltner (3-5)	#432
Tue, Jun 23rd	vs SEA	George Kirby (8-9)	#22	@ COL	Sean Sullivan (0-3)	#427
Wed, Jun 24th	vs SEA	Bryan Woo (7-8)	#13	@ COL	Kyle Freeland (2-10)	#375
Thu, Jun 25th	vs SEA	Bryce Miller (4-5)	#39	vs NYY	Cam Schlittler (10-6)	#14
Fri, Jun 26th	vs CIN	Andrew Abbott (5-6)	#108	vs NYY	Will Warren (7-5)	#68
Sat, Jun 27th	vs CIN	Chase Burns (12-1)	#27	vs NYY	Gerrit Cole (4-5)	#24
Sun, Jun 28th	vs CIN	Brady Singer (5-10)	#142	vs NYY	Carlos Rodon (4-2)	#105
Mon, Jun 29th	@ PHI	Aaron Nola (3-9)	#59	vs WSH	Miles Mikolas (3-7)	#304
Tue, Jun 30th	@ PHI	Cristopher Sanchez (13-4)	#4	vs WSH	Cade Cavalli (8-4)	#52
Wed, Jul 1st	@ PHI	Zack Wheeler (10-2)	#8	vs WSH	Brad Lord (5-2)	#213
Fri, Jul 3rd	@ WSH	Foster Griffin (12-2)	#51	@ LAA	Reid Detmers (3-7)	#36
Sat, Jul 4th	@ WSH	Carson Palmquist (0-1)	#323	@ LAA	Sam Aldegheri (3-4)	#426
Sun, Jul 5th	@ WSH	Cade Cavalli (8-4)	#52	@ LAA	Ryan Johnson (2-5)	#169
Tue, Jul 7th	vs ATL	Hurston Waldrep (0-1)	#306	@ CWS	Noah Schultz (3-7)	#209
Wed, Jul 8th	vs ATL	Grant Holmes (6-4)	#137	@ CWS	Davis Martin (9-5)	#82
Thu, Jul 9th	vs ATL	Bryce Elder (6-6)	#133	@ CWS	Anthony Kay (7-5)	#205
Fri, Jul 10th				@ NYM	Nolan McLean (7-7)	#28
Sat, Jul 11th	vs MIL	Shane Drohan (5-4)	#75	@ NYM	Freddy Peralta (5-9)	#38
Sun, Jul 12th	vs MIL	Robert Gasser (3-4)	#112	@ NYM	Zac Thornton (2-1)	#146
Fri, Jul 17th				vs TB	Mason Englert (0-3)	#175
Sat, Jul 18th	@ CLE	Logan Allen (0-0)	#155	vs TB	Ian Seymour (7-3)	#86
Sun, Jul 19th	@ CLE	Joey Cantillo (8-6)	#76	vs TB	Shane McClanahan (9-6)	#35
Mon, Jul 20th	@ NYY	Ryan Weathers (4-7)	#57	vs BAL	Shane Baz (4-9)	#73
Wed, Jul 22nd	@ NYY	Max Fried (4-3)	#15	vs BAL	Kyle Bradish (7-9)	#49
Fri, Jul 24th	vs CHC	Matthew Boyd (6-1)	#32	vs TOR	Trey Yesavage (5-5)	#69
Sat, Jul 25th	vs CHC	Shota Imanaga (7-8)	#25	vs TOR	Dylan Cease (7-5)	#9
Sun, Jul 26th	vs CHC	Jameson Taillon (2-6)	#171	vs TOR	Kevin Gausman (4-10)	#30
Mon, Jul 27th	vs ARI	Merrill Kelly (8-8)	#126	@ ATH	Jack Perkins (2-6)	#101
Tue, Jul 28th	vs ARI	Brandon Pfaadt (5-1)	#70	@ ATH	Gage Jump (4-6)	#93
Wed, Jul 29th	vs ARI	Eduardo Rodriguez (10-3)	#127	@ ATH	Jacob Lopez (5-4)	#203
Thu, Jul 30th	@ CIN	Rhett Lowder (3-7)	#287	@ ATH	Mason Barnett (1-1)	#376
Fri, Jul 31st	@ CIN	Hunter Greene (2-2)	#26	@ LAD	Edgardo Henriquez
Sat, Aug 1st	@ CIN	Andrew Abbott (5-6)	#108	@ LAD	Yoshinobu Yamamoto (11-6)	#11
Sun, Aug 2nd	@ CIN	Chase Burns (12-1)	#27	@ LAD	Emmet Sheehan (4-7)	#48
Tue, Aug 4th	@ MIL	Logan Henderson (5-1)	#41	vs CWS	Davis Martin (9-5)	#82
Wed, Aug 5th	@ MIL	Shane Drohan (5-4)	#75	vs CWS	Sean Burke (7-5)	#71
Thu, Aug 6th	@ MIL	Robert Gasser (3-4)	#112	vs CWS	Erick Fedde (5-6)	#385
Fri, Aug 7th	vs NYM	Freddy Peralta (5-9)	#38	vs ATH
Sat, Aug 8th	vs NYM	Clay Holmes (4-4)	#116	vs ATH	Gage Jump (4-6)	#93
Sun, Aug 9th	vs NYM	Christian Scott (3-3)	#54	vs ATH	J.T. Ginn (8-6)	#165
Mon, Aug 10th				@ TOR
Tue, Aug 11th	@ MIA			@ TOR
Wed, Aug 12th	@ MIA			@ TOR
Thu, Aug 13th	@ MIA			@ TOR
Fri, Aug 14th	vs BOS			@ PIT
Sat, Aug 15th	vs BOS			@ PIT
Sun, Aug 16th	vs BOS			@ PIT
Mon, Aug 17th	vs DET			vs ARI
Tue, Aug 18th	vs DET			vs ARI
Wed, Aug 19th	vs DET			vs ARI
Fri, Aug 21st	@ LAD			vs SF
Sat, Aug 22nd	@ LAD			vs SF
Sun, Aug 23rd	@ LAD			vs SF
Mon, Aug 24th	@ SD			@ MIA
Tue, Aug 25th	@ SD			@ MIA
Wed, Aug 26th	@ SD			@ MIA
Fri, Aug 28th	@ STL			@ NYY
Sat, Aug 29th	@ STL			@ NYY
Sun, Aug 30th	@ STL			@ NYY
Mon, Aug 31st				vs SEA
Tue, Sep 1st	vs SF			vs SEA
Wed, Sep 2nd	vs SF			vs SEA
Thu, Sep 3rd	vs SF			@ BAL
Fri, Sep 4th	vs LAA			@ BAL
Sat, Sep 5th	vs LAA			@ BAL
Sun, Sep 6th	vs LAA			@ BAL
Mon, Sep 7th				vs LAA
Tue, Sep 8th	@ CWS			vs LAA
Wed, Sep 9th	@ CWS			vs LAA
Fri, Sep 11th	@ CHC			vs KC
Sat, Sep 12th	@ CHC			vs KC
Sun, Sep 13th	@ CHC			vs KC
Tue, Sep 15th	vs MIL			@ TEX
Wed, Sep 16th	vs MIL			@ TEX
Thu, Sep 17th	vs MIL			@ TEX
Fri, Sep 18th	vs KC			@ TB
Sat, Sep 19th	vs KC			@ TB
Sun, Sep 20th	vs KC			@ TB
Tue, Sep 22nd	vs STL			vs CLE
Wed, Sep 23rd	vs STL			vs CLE
Thu, Sep 24th	vs STL			vs CLE
Fri, Sep 25th	@ DET			vs CHC
Sat, Sep 26th	@ DET			vs CHC
Sun, Sep 27th	@ DET			vs CHC
Thu, Apr 16th	vs WSH	Foster Griffin (12-2)	#51
Thu, Apr 30th	vs STL	Hunter Dobbins (2-1)	#170
Sat, May 9th	@ SF	Landen Roupp (7-9)	#61
Thu, May 21st	@ STL	Dustin May (5-7)	#55
Mon, May 25th	vs CHC	Ben Brown (4-2)	#97
Sat, Jun 6th	@ ATL	Spencer Strider (4-2)	#303
Thu, Jun 11th	vs LAD	Justin Wrobleski (11-2)	#90
Mon, Jun 15th	@ ATH	J.T. Ginn (8-6)	#165
Thu, Jul 2nd	@ PHI	Alan Rangel (0-3)	#301
Mon, Aug 3rd	@ MIL	Brandon Sproat (3-6)	#141
Thu, Sep 10th	@ CWS

Who Should I Trade?

Braiden Ward for Esmerlyn Valdez (2026)

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