Who Should I Trade?

DJ Herz for Yusei Kikuchi (2026)

Summary
Stats
Projections
News & Notes
Schedule

Who Should I Trade? Player Summaries
	Experts' Pick
	Yusei Kikuchi SP - LAA	DJ Herz SP - WSH
Expert Recommendation	100% Recommended by 4 of 4 experts	0% Recommended by 0 of 4 experts
Rankings

Rest of Season	# 172	‐
VBR	# 431	# 884

Projections

Strikeouts	40	8
Wins	2	0
Saves	0	0
ERA	4.36	4.04
WHIP	1.39	1.32

Misc

Injury Alert	IL60	IL60

Expert Ranks

Scott Pianowski Yahoo! Sports	# 159	‐

Mike Maher BettingPros	# 154	‐

Kelly Kirby FantasyPros	# 218	‐

Kevin Spinelli KevScores	# 230	‐

Who Should I Trade? Player Statistics
	Yusei Kikuchi SP - LAA	DJ Herz SP - WSH
2026 Stats


Games Played	7	‐

Games Started	7	‐

Innings Pitched	31.0	‐

Wins	0	‐

Losses	3	‐

Saves	0	‐

Blown Saves	0	‐

Holds	0	‐

Hits Allowed	35	‐

Earned Runs	20	‐

Home Runs Allowed	3	‐

Strikeouts	33	‐

Walks	14	‐

ERA	5.81	‐

WHIP	1.58	‐

Who Should I Trade? Player Projections
	Yusei Kikuchi SP - LAA	DJ Herz SP - WSH
2026 Projections


Games Played	7	5

Games Started	7	1

Innings Pitched	39.6	7.7

Wins	2	0

Losses	2	0

Saves	0	0

Blown Saves	0	0

Holds	0	0

Hits Allowed	39	6

Earned Runs	19	3

Home Runs Allowed	6	1

Strikeouts	40	8

Walks	15	3

ERA	4.36	4.04

WHIP	1.39	1.32

Who Should I Trade? Player Notes
	Yusei Kikuchi SP - LAA	DJ Herz SP - WSH
News
	Yusei Kikuchi recently began his throwing program and has progressed to playing catch. Nicholas Rodriguez Mon, Jun 22nd	Nationals left-hander DJ Herz (elbow) is progressing with throwing activity as tolerated at the team's spring complex in Florida. Brenton Kemp Thu, Jul 9th
	The Angels transferred Yusei Kikuchi to the 60-day injured list. Ari Koslow Fri, May 22nd	DJ Herz underwent an MRI that showed a flexor muscle strain. Ari Koslow Mon, Jun 22nd
	Yusei Kikuchi said he hopes to start his throwing program soon to return sometime in the early part of the second half. Ari Koslow Wed, May 20th	DJ Herz will not make his scheduled rehab start on Sunday and could be shut down for multiple weeks. Ari Koslow Sun, Jun 21st
	Yusei Kikuchi will be shut down for the next 3 to 4 weeks due to left shoulder inflammation, according to Angels' manager Kurt Suzuki. Diego Sandoval Tue, May 5th	DJ Herz threw 38 pitches over 2 2/3 innings in a rehab start for Single-A Fredericksburg on Tuesday. Ari Koslow Wed, Jun 17th
	Former Los Angeles Times writer, Mike DiGiovanna reported that sources have told him Yusei Kikuchi (shoulder) is “gonna be out for several months, if not the whole season.” Ari Koslow Tue, May 5th	DJ Herz will continue his rehab assignment with Single-A Fredericksburg on Tuesday. Ari Koslow Tue, Jun 16th
Notes
There are no recent notes for these players

Who Should I Trade? Player Schedules
Date	Opp	Opp Pitcher	VBR	Opp	Opp Pitcher	VBR
	Yusei Kikuchi SP - LAA			DJ Herz SP - WSH
Thu, Mar 26th	@ HOU	Hunter Brown (1-0)	#21	@ CHC	Matthew Boyd (6-1)	#38
Sat, Mar 28th	@ HOU	Cristian Javier (0-1)	#237	@ CHC	Cade Horton (1-0)
Sun, Mar 29th	@ HOU	Tatsuya Imai (5-4)	#135	@ CHC	Shota Imanaga (5-8)	#30
Mon, Mar 30th	@ CHC	Edward Cabrera (5-4)	#97	@ PHI	Taijuan Walker (1-4)
Tue, Mar 31st	@ CHC	Jameson Taillon (2-5)	#119	@ PHI	Andrew Painter (1-8)	#264
Wed, Apr 1st	@ CHC	Matthew Boyd (6-1)	#38	@ PHI	Cristopher Sanchez (11-4)	#4
Fri, Apr 3rd	vs SEA	Bryan Woo (7-6)	#13	vs LAD	Emmet Sheehan (4-6)	#43
Sat, Apr 4th	vs SEA	Emerson Hancock (6-4)	#92	vs LAD	Tyler Glasnow (3-0)	#63
Sun, Apr 5th	vs SEA	Luis Castillo (3-8)	#65	vs LAD	Roki Sasaki (3-5)	#117
Mon, Apr 6th	vs ATL	Chris Sale (10-6)	#7	vs STL	Andre Pallante (10-6)	#137
Tue, Apr 7th	vs ATL	Reynaldo Lopez (4-2)	#76	vs STL	Matthew Liberatore (5-6)	#120
Wed, Apr 8th	vs ATL	Grant Holmes (5-4)	#148	vs STL	Michael McGreevy (4-7)	#80
Fri, Apr 10th	@ CIN	Chase Burns (11-1)	#22	@ MIL	Aaron Ashby
Sat, Apr 11th	@ CIN	Brandon Williamson (2-3)	#427	@ MIL	Kyle Harrison (8-2)	#58
Sun, Apr 12th	@ CIN	Andrew Abbott (5-5)	#90	@ MIL	Brandon Woodruff (2-2)	#160
Mon, Apr 13th	@ NYY	Will Warren (7-4)	#67	@ PIT	Paul Skenes (8-8)	#3
Tue, Apr 14th	@ NYY	Ryan Weathers (3-7)	#46	@ PIT	Mitch Keller (6-7)	#113
Wed, Apr 15th	@ NYY	Luis Gil (1-2)	#309	@ PIT	Mason Montgomery (2-3)	#116
Thu, Apr 16th	@ NYY	Max Fried (4-3)	#28	@ PIT	Braxton Ashcraft (9-3)	#25
Fri, Apr 17th	vs SD	Matt Waldron (1-2)	#289	vs SF	Logan Webb (5-7)	#15
Sat, Apr 18th	vs SD	German Marquez (4-2)	#330	vs SF	Adrian Houser (2-6)	#186
Sun, Apr 19th	vs SD	Michael King (6-7)	#51	vs SF	Robbie Ray (8-6)	#86
Mon, Apr 20th	vs TOR	Dylan Cease (6-4)	#10	vs ATL	Bryce Elder (5-6)	#124
Tue, Apr 21st	vs TOR	Patrick Corbin (3-4)	#223	vs ATL	Reynaldo Lopez (4-2)	#76
Wed, Apr 22nd	vs TOR	Eric Lauer (4-5)	#361	vs ATL	Didier Fuentes (4-0)	#132
Thu, Apr 23rd				vs ATL	JR Ritchie (1-2)	#219
Fri, Apr 24th	@ KC	Noah Cameron (5-7)	#77	@ CWS	Bryan Hudson (3-2)	#163
Sat, Apr 25th	@ KC	Cole Ragans (1-4)		@ CWS	Noah Schultz (3-6)	#216
Sun, Apr 26th	@ KC	Seth Lugo (3-6)	#122	@ CWS	Bryan Hudson (3-2)	#163
Tue, Apr 28th	@ CWS	Davis Martin (9-5)	#100	@ NYM	Clay Holmes (4-4)	#111
Wed, Apr 29th	@ CWS	Erick Fedde (5-6)	#405	@ NYM	David Peterson (4-7)	#85
Thu, Apr 30th				@ NYM	Freddy Peralta (5-8)	#35
Fri, May 1st	vs NYM	Christian Scott (3-1)	#66	vs MIL	Jacob Misiorowski (10-4)	#6
Sat, May 2nd	vs NYM	Nolan McLean (6-6)	#31	vs MIL	Kyle Harrison (8-2)	#58
Sun, May 3rd	vs NYM	Clay Holmes (4-4)	#111	vs MIL	Logan Henderson (3-1)	#56
Tue, May 5th	vs CWS	Erick Fedde (5-6)	#405	vs MIN	Taj Bradley (9-4)	#48
Wed, May 6th	vs CWS	Noah Schultz (3-6)	#216	vs MIN	Bailey Ober (7-3)	#95
Thu, May 7th				vs MIN	Simeon Woods Richardson (1-7)	#377
Fri, May 8th	@ TOR	Dylan Cease (6-4)	#10	@ MIA	Robby Snelling (0-1)
Sat, May 9th	@ TOR	Trey Yesavage (4-4)	#84	@ MIA	Janson Junk (4-5)	#110
Sun, May 10th	@ TOR	Spencer Miles (4-2)	#105	@ MIA	Sandy Alcantara (10-5)	#55
Tue, May 12th	@ CLE	Slade Cecconi (4-6)	#112	@ CIN	Brady Singer (4-9)	#159
Wed, May 13th	@ CLE	Parker Messick (8-5)	#41	@ CIN	Nick Lodolo (3-2)	#101
Thu, May 14th				@ CIN	Chase Burns (11-1)	#22
Fri, May 15th	vs LAD	Will Klein		vs BAL	Shane Baz (4-9)	#70
Sat, May 16th	vs LAD	Justin Wrobleski (10-2)	#82	vs BAL	Chris Bassitt (4-4)	#201
Sun, May 17th	vs LAD	Roki Sasaki (3-5)	#117	vs BAL	Brandon Young (7-2)	#134
Mon, May 18th	vs ATH	J.T. Ginn (8-6)	#156	vs NYM	Christian Scott (3-1)	#66
Tue, May 19th	vs ATH	Jacob Lopez (4-3)	#204	vs NYM	Nolan McLean (6-6)	#31
Wed, May 20th	vs ATH	Aaron Civale (5-7)	#299	vs NYM	Zach Thornton (0-1)	#241
Thu, May 21st	vs ATH	Luis Severino (2-6)	#184	vs NYM	David Peterson (4-7)	#85
Fri, May 22nd	vs TEX	Jacob deGrom (7-5)	#9	@ ATL	Bryce Elder (5-6)	#124
Sat, May 23rd	vs TEX	Nathan Eovaldi (9-7)	#17	@ ATL	Grant Holmes (5-4)	#148
Sun, May 24th	vs TEX	MacKenzie Gore (6-8)	#37	@ ATL	Martin Perez (6-6)	#240
Mon, May 25th				@ CLE	Tanner Bibee (3-9)	#44
Tue, May 26th	@ DET	Keider Montero (6-5)	#157	@ CLE	Joey Cantillo (8-4)	#83
Wed, May 27th	@ DET	Casey Mize (4-6)	#39	@ CLE	Gavin Williams (10-5)	#26
Fri, May 29th	@ TB	Nick Martinez (8-2)	#88	vs SD	Lucas Giolito (2-3)	#344
Sat, May 30th	@ TB	Drew Rasmussen (7-5)	#20	vs SD	Michael King (6-7)	#51
Sun, May 31st	@ TB	Shane McClanahan (8-5)	#33	vs SD	Griffin Canning (1-8)	#145
Mon, Jun 1st	vs COL	Kyle Freeland (2-8)	#277	vs MIA	Sandy Alcantara (10-5)	#55
Tue, Jun 2nd	vs COL	Tomoyuki Sugano (9-4)	#438	vs MIA	Lake Bachar (1-1)	#187
Wed, Jun 3rd	vs COL	Michael Lorenzen (3-9)	#430	vs MIA	Max Meyer (9-1)	#42
Fri, Jun 5th	@ LAD	Roki Sasaki (3-5)	#117	@ ARI	Merrill Kelly (7-8)	#118
Sat, Jun 6th	@ LAD	Yoshinobu Yamamoto (9-6)	#12	@ ARI	Eduardo Rodriguez (8-3)	#115
Sun, Jun 7th	@ LAD	Emmet Sheehan (4-6)	#43	@ ARI	Michael Soroka (8-3)	#71
Mon, Jun 8th	vs HOU	Spencer Arrighetti (7-5)	#138	@ SF	Logan Webb (5-7)	#15
Tue, Jun 9th	vs HOU	Kai-Wei Teng (4-6)	#248	@ SF	Adrian Houser (2-6)	#186
Wed, Jun 10th	vs HOU	Peter Lambert (8-5)	#164	@ SF	Robbie Ray (8-6)	#86
Fri, Jun 12th	vs TB	Shane McClanahan (8-5)	#33	vs SEA	Bryce Miller (4-4)	#34
Sat, Jun 13th	vs TB	Griffin Jax (5-7)	#57	vs SEA	Luis Castillo (3-8)	#65
Sun, Jun 14th	vs TB	Casey Legumina		vs SEA	Emerson Hancock (6-4)	#92
Mon, Jun 15th	@ ARI	Ryne Nelson (3-5)	#211	vs KC	Mitch Spence (0-2)	#323
Tue, Jun 16th	@ ARI	Merrill Kelly (7-8)	#118	vs KC	Michael Wacha (5-7)	#72
Wed, Jun 17th	@ ARI	Eduardo Rodriguez (8-3)	#115	vs KC	Luinder Avila (4-3)	#226
Fri, Jun 19th	@ ATH	Jeffrey Springs (3-9)	#183	@ TB	Griffin Jax (5-7)	#57
Sat, Jun 20th	@ ATH	J.T. Ginn (8-6)	#156	@ TB	Ian Seymour (6-2)	#75
Sun, Jun 21st	@ ATH	Jack Perkins (2-5)	#108	@ TB	Nick Martinez (8-2)	#88
Mon, Jun 22nd	vs BAL	Kyle Bradish (6-9)	#40	vs PHI	Tim Mayza (2-3)	#185
Tue, Jun 23rd	vs BAL	Shane Baz (4-9)	#70	vs PHI	Jesus Luzardo (9-4)	#11
Wed, Jun 24th	vs BAL	Trey Gibson (1-3)	#305	vs PHI	Aaron Nola (3-7)	#53
Thu, Jun 25th				vs PHI	Cristopher Sanchez (11-4)	#4
Fri, Jun 26th	vs ATH	J.T. Ginn (8-6)	#156	@ BAL	Trevor Rogers (6-7)	#78
Sat, Jun 27th	vs ATH	Jack Perkins (2-5)	#108	@ BAL	Brandon Young (7-2)	#134
Sun, Jun 28th	vs ATH	Aaron Civale (5-7)	#299	@ BAL	Kyle Bradish (6-9)	#40
Mon, Jun 29th	@ SEA	George Kirby (7-8)	#18	@ BOS	Ranger Suarez (4-3)	#24
Tue, Jun 30th	@ SEA	Bryan Woo (7-6)	#13	@ BOS	Connelly Early (7-5)	#143
Wed, Jul 1st				@ BOS	Payton Tolle (5-6)	#61
Fri, Jul 3rd	vs BOS	Jake Bennett (5-3)	#104	vs PIT	Mitch Keller (6-7)	#113
Sat, Jul 4th	vs BOS	Sonny Gray (11-1)	#32	vs PIT	Braxton Ashcraft (9-3)	#25
Sun, Jul 5th	vs BOS	Ranger Suarez (4-3)	#24	vs PIT	Bubba Chandler (3-8)	#129
Mon, Jul 6th				vs HOU	Mike Burrows (4-9)	#181
Tue, Jul 7th	@ TEX	Jacob deGrom (7-5)	#9	vs HOU	Tatsuya Imai (5-4)	#135
Wed, Jul 8th	@ TEX	MacKenzie Gore (6-8)	#37	vs HOU	Spencer Arrighetti (7-5)	#138
Fri, Jul 10th	@ MIN	Zebby Matthews (4-6)	#109	vs NYY	Ryan Weathers (3-7)	#46
Sat, Jul 11th	@ MIN	Joe Ryan (6-5)	#14	vs NYY	Cam Schlittler (9-5)	#19
Sun, Jul 12th	@ MIN	Taj Bradley (9-4)	#48	vs NYY	Will Warren (7-4)	#67
Fri, Jul 17th	vs DET	Troy Melton (5-1)	#106	@ ATH	Gage Jump (3-5)	#99
Sat, Jul 18th	vs DET	Tarik Skubal (6-5)	#2	@ ATH	J.T. Ginn (8-6)	#156
Sun, Jul 19th	vs DET	Casey Mize (4-6)	#39	@ ATH	Jacob Lopez (4-3)	#204
Mon, Jul 20th	vs STL	Kyle Leahy (7-4)	#130	@ COL	Kyle Freeland (2-8)	#277
Tue, Jul 21st	vs STL	Matthew Liberatore (5-6)	#120	@ COL	Michael Lorenzen (3-9)	#430
Wed, Jul 22nd	vs STL	Michael McGreevy (4-7)	#80	@ COL	Gabriel Hughes (0-1)	#288
Fri, Jul 24th	@ SF	Logan Webb (5-7)	#15	vs ARI	Eduardo Rodriguez (8-3)	#115
Sat, Jul 25th	@ SF	Robbie Ray (8-6)	#86	vs ARI	Mitch Bratt (0-0)	#198
Sun, Jul 26th	@ SF	Tyler Mahle (2-8)	#89	vs ARI	Michael Soroka (8-3)	#71
Mon, Jul 27th	vs HOU	Tatsuya Imai (5-4)	#135	vs TOR	Max Scherzer (1-4)	#144
Tue, Jul 28th	vs HOU	Peter Lambert (8-5)	#164	vs TOR	Shane Bieber (1-1)	#74
Wed, Jul 29th	vs HOU			vs TOR
Thu, Jul 30th				@ ATL
Fri, Jul 31st	vs MIL			@ ATL
Sat, Aug 1st	vs MIL			@ ATL
Sun, Aug 2nd	vs MIL			@ ATL
Mon, Aug 3rd				@ PHI
Tue, Aug 4th	@ BAL			@ PHI
Wed, Aug 5th	@ BAL			@ PHI
Thu, Aug 6th	@ BAL			@ PHI
Fri, Aug 7th	@ MIA			vs CIN
Sat, Aug 8th	@ MIA			vs CIN
Sun, Aug 9th	@ MIA			vs CIN
Tue, Aug 11th	vs TEX			vs CHC
Wed, Aug 12th	vs TEX			vs CHC
Thu, Aug 13th	vs TEX			vs CHC
Fri, Aug 14th	vs KC			@ NYM
Sat, Aug 15th	vs KC			@ NYM
Sun, Aug 16th	vs KC			@ NYM
Tue, Aug 18th	@ HOU			@ TEX
Wed, Aug 19th	@ HOU			@ TEX
Thu, Aug 20th	@ HOU			@ TEX
Fri, Aug 21st	@ TEX			@ MIA
Sat, Aug 22nd	@ TEX			@ MIA
Sun, Aug 23rd	@ TEX			@ MIA
Mon, Aug 24th	vs CLE			vs COL
Tue, Aug 25th	vs CLE			vs COL
Wed, Aug 26th	vs CLE			vs COL
Thu, Aug 27th				vs COL
Fri, Aug 28th	vs PHI			vs MIA
Sat, Aug 29th	vs PHI			vs MIA
Sun, Aug 30th	vs PHI			vs MIA
Mon, Aug 31st	vs NYY			vs MIA
Tue, Sep 1st	vs NYY			vs ATL
Wed, Sep 2nd	vs NYY			vs ATL
Fri, Sep 4th	@ PIT			@ LAD
Sat, Sep 5th	@ PIT			@ LAD
Sun, Sep 6th	@ PIT			@ LAD
Mon, Sep 7th	@ BOS			@ SD
Tue, Sep 8th	@ BOS			@ SD
Wed, Sep 9th	@ BOS			@ SD
Fri, Sep 11th	@ WSH			vs LAA
Sat, Sep 12th	@ WSH			vs LAA
Sun, Sep 13th	@ WSH			vs LAA
Tue, Sep 15th	vs SEA			vs PHI
Wed, Sep 16th	vs SEA			vs PHI
Fri, Sep 18th	vs MIN			@ STL
Sat, Sep 19th	vs MIN			@ STL
Sun, Sep 20th	vs MIN			@ STL
Mon, Sep 21st				@ DET
Tue, Sep 22nd	@ ATH			@ DET
Wed, Sep 23rd	@ ATH			@ DET
Fri, Sep 25th	@ SEA			vs NYM
Sat, Sep 26th	@ SEA			vs NYM
Sun, Sep 27th	@ SEA			vs NYM
Fri, Mar 27th	@ HOU	Mike Burrows (4-9)	#181
Mon, Apr 27th	@ CWS	Anthony Kay (6-4)	#171
Mon, May 4th	vs CWS	Davis Martin (9-5)	#100
Mon, May 11th	@ CLE	Joey Cantillo (8-4)	#83
Thu, May 28th	@ DET	Jack Flaherty (3-8)	#54
Thu, Jun 18th	@ ATH	Gage Jump (3-5)	#99
Thu, Jul 2nd	@ SEA	Bryce Miller (4-4)	#34
Thu, Jul 9th	@ TEX	Nathan Eovaldi (9-7)	#17
Mon, Aug 10th	vs TEX
Mon, Sep 14th	vs SEA
Thu, Sep 17th	vs MIN
Thu, Sep 24th	@ SEA

Who Should I Trade?

DJ Herz for Yusei Kikuchi (2026)

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