Who Should I Trade?

Esmerlyn Valdez for Jake Burger (2026)

Summary
Stats
Projections
News & Notes
Schedule

Who Should I Trade? Player Summaries
	Experts' Pick	Experts' Pick
	Esmerlyn Valdez 1B,LF,RF - PIT	Jake Burger 1B - TEX
Expert Recommendation	50% Recommended by 3 of 6 experts	50% Recommended by 3 of 6 experts
Rankings

Rest of Season	# 167	# 113
VBR	# 197	# 78

Projections

Runs	19	24
Home Runs	7	10
RBI	21	28
Stolen Bases	1	1
Batting Average	.237	.244

Misc

Injury Alert	-	-

Expert Ranks

Dalton Del Don The Deep Shot	‐	# 82

Mike Maher BettingPros	‐	# 125

Kelly Kirby FantasyPros	# 188	# 84

Chris Welsh FantasyPros	# 99	# 147

Scott Pianowski Yahoo! Sports	# 118	# 130

Kevin Spinelli KevScores	# 128	# 162

Who Should I Trade? Player Statistics
	Esmerlyn Valdez 1B,LF,RF - PIT	Jake Burger 1B - TEX
2026 Stats


At Bats	142	392

Runs	27	45

Hits	38	92

Singles	14	57

Doubles	9	16

Triples	1	0

Home Runs	14	19

RBI	38	66

Stolen Bases	0	2

Caught Stealing	1	0

Walks	23	31

Strikeouts	57	115

Batting Average	.268	.235

On Base Pct	.369	.294

Slugging Pct	.641	.421

On-base Plus Slugging	1.010	.715

Who Should I Trade? Player Projections
	Esmerlyn Valdez 1B,LF,RF - PIT	Jake Burger 1B - TEX
2026 Projections


At Bats	135	183

Runs	19	24

Hits	32	45

Singles	19	26

Doubles	6	8

Triples	0	0

Home Runs	7	10

RBI	21	28

Stolen Bases	1	1

Caught Stealing	0	0

Walks	15	12

Strikeouts	44	51

Batting Average	.237	.244

On Base Pct	.319	.299

Slugging Pct	.437	.450

On-base Plus Slugging	.756	.749

Who Should I Trade? Player Notes
	Esmerlyn Valdez 1B,LF,RF - PIT	Jake Burger 1B - TEX
News
	Esmerlyn Valdez is expected to be in the lineup in Tuesday's game against the Diamondbacks. Ari Koslow Tue, Jul 28th	Jake Burger went 1-for-4 in Monday's win over the Mariners with a two-run home run. Chris Schommer Mon, Jul 27th
	The Pirates didn’t provide an update on Esmerlyn Valdez following Monday’s game against the Diamondbacks. Ari Koslow Tue, Jul 28th	Jake Burger went 2-for-4 in a 5-4 win over the Mariners with a home run, one run scored, and three RBI. Chris Schommer Sat, Jul 25th
	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	Jake Burger went 1-for-3 in a loss to the White Sox with a solo home run. Chris Schommer Tue, Jul 21st
	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	Jake Burger went 1-for-4 in Friday's 7-3 win over the Astros with a home run, one run scored, and four RBI. Chris Schommer Sat, Jul 11th
	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	Jake Burger went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Sunday’s 6-3 loss to the Tigers. He opened the scoring in the third inning by taking Casey Mize deep for his 15th homer of the season. Bruno Mulé Mon, Jul 6th
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			Jake Burger 1B - TEX
Thu, Mar 26th	@ NYM	Freddy Peralta (5-9)	#40	@ PHI	Cristopher Sanchez (14-4)	#3
Sat, Mar 28th	@ NYM	David Peterson (6-7)	#89	@ PHI	Aaron Nola (3-9)	#59
Sun, Mar 29th	@ NYM	Nolan McLean (7-7)	#34	@ PHI	Jesus Luzardo (9-5)	#11
Mon, Mar 30th	@ CIN	Chase Burns (12-1)	#29	@ BAL	Chris Bassitt (4-4)	#134
Tue, Mar 31st	@ CIN	Brandon Williamson (2-3)	#350	@ BAL	Zach Eflin (0-0)
Wed, Apr 1st	@ CIN	Andrew Abbott (5-7)	#106	@ BAL	Trevor Rogers (6-7)	#66
Fri, Apr 3rd	vs BAL	Kyle Bradish (7-9)	#45	vs CIN	Brady Singer (5-10)	#151
Sat, Apr 4th	vs BAL	Shane Baz (4-10)	#70	vs CIN	Rhett Lowder (3-7)	#277
Sun, Apr 5th	vs BAL	Chris Bassitt (4-4)	#134	vs CIN	Chase Burns (12-1)	#29
Mon, Apr 6th	vs SD	German Marquez (4-2)	#334	vs SEA	Logan Gilbert (8-6)	#10
Tue, Apr 7th	vs SD	Nick Pivetta (1-2)	#101	vs SEA	George Kirby (8-9)	#21
Wed, Apr 8th	vs SD	Michael King (6-7)	#57	vs SEA	Bryan Woo (7-8)	#13
Fri, Apr 10th	@ CHC	Shota Imanaga (7-9)	#23	@ LAD	Tyler Glasnow (3-0)	#65
Sat, Apr 11th	@ CHC	Edward Cabrera (5-4)	#76	@ LAD	Emmet Sheehan (4-7)	#48
Sun, Apr 12th	@ CHC	Jameson Taillon (2-6)	#220	@ LAD	Roki Sasaki (5-5)	#92
Mon, Apr 13th	vs WSH	Cade Cavalli (8-4)	#54	@ ATH	Luis Severino (2-6)	#231
Tue, Apr 14th	vs WSH	PJ Poulin (3-0)	#290	@ ATH	Jeffrey Springs (3-11)	#246
Wed, Apr 15th	vs WSH	Jake Irvin (2-5)	#169	@ ATH	J.T. Ginn (8-6)	#160
Thu, Apr 16th	vs WSH	Foster Griffin (12-3)	#56	@ ATH	Jacob Lopez (5-4)	#185
Fri, Apr 17th	vs TB	Nick Martinez (10-3)	#97	@ SEA	Logan Gilbert (8-6)	#10
Sat, Apr 18th	vs TB	Drew Rasmussen (10-5)	#20	@ SEA	George Kirby (8-9)	#21
Sun, Apr 19th	vs TB	Shane McClanahan (9-6)	#49	@ SEA	Bryan Woo (7-8)	#13
Tue, Apr 21st	@ TEX	Kumar Rocker (4-8)	#79	vs PIT	Carmen Mlodzinski (6-3)	#119
Wed, Apr 22nd	@ TEX	Jack Leiter (3-7)	#123	vs PIT	Braxton Ashcraft (11-4)	#31
Thu, Apr 23rd	@ TEX	Jacob deGrom (7-7)	#7	vs PIT	Bubba Chandler (3-8)	#103
Fri, Apr 24th	@ MIL	Brandon Woodruff (2-2)		vs ATH	Luis Severino (2-6)	#231
Sat, Apr 25th	@ MIL	Jacob Misiorowski (11-4)	#5	vs ATH	Jeffrey Springs (3-11)	#246
Sun, Apr 26th	@ MIL	Kyle Harrison (8-2)	#43	vs ATH	J.T. Ginn (8-6)	#160
Mon, Apr 27th	vs STL	Dustin May (5-7)	#55	vs NYY	Max Fried (4-3)	#16
Tue, Apr 28th	vs STL	Kyle Leahy (7-4)	#125	vs NYY	Cam Schlittler (10-6)	#14
Wed, Apr 29th	vs STL	Andre Pallante (11-6)	#109	vs NYY	Elmer Rodriguez (0-2)	#328
Thu, Apr 30th	vs STL	Hunter Dobbins (2-1)	#162
Fri, May 1st	vs CIN	Brady Singer (5-10)	#151	@ DET	Jack Flaherty (3-8)	#94
Sat, May 2nd	vs CIN	Rhett Lowder (3-7)	#277	@ DET	Keider Montero (7-6)	#145
Sun, May 3rd	vs CIN	Chase Burns (12-1)	#29	@ DET	Tyler Holton (1-4)	#132
Tue, May 5th	@ ARI	Eduardo Rodriguez (10-3)	#128	@ NYY	Elmer Rodriguez (0-2)	#328
Wed, May 6th	@ ARI	Michael Soroka (8-3)	#67	@ NYY	Will Warren (8-5)	#69
Thu, May 7th	@ ARI	Zac Gallen (3-9)	#172	@ NYY	Paul Blackburn (3-1)	#215
Fri, May 8th	@ SF	Robbie Ray (10-6)	#96	vs CHC	Ben Brown (4-2)	#93
Sat, May 9th	@ SF	Landen Roupp (7-9)	#63	vs CHC	Edward Cabrera (5-4)	#76
Sun, May 10th	@ SF	Tyler Mahle (3-9)	#78	vs CHC	Jameson Taillon (2-6)	#220
Tue, May 12th	vs COL	Michael Lorenzen (3-9)	#436	vs ARI	Zac Gallen (3-9)	#172
Wed, May 13th	vs COL	Jose Quintana (2-3)	#433	vs ARI	Ryne Nelson (3-5)	#207
Thu, May 14th	vs COL	Chase Dollander (3-3)
Fri, May 15th	vs PHI	Aaron Nola (3-9)	#59	@ HOU	Spencer Arrighetti (7-5)	#282
Sat, May 16th	vs PHI	Cristopher Sanchez (14-4)	#3	@ HOU	Kai-Wei Teng (5-6)	#261
Sun, May 17th	vs PHI	Zack Wheeler (10-2)	#6	@ HOU	Peter Lambert (8-5)	#153
Tue, May 19th	@ STL	Matthew Liberatore (5-8)	#118	@ COL	Sammy Peralta	#371
Wed, May 20th	@ STL	Michael McGreevy (4-9)	#95	@ COL	Kyle Freeland (2-10)	#394
Thu, May 21st	@ STL	Dustin May (5-7)	#55
Fri, May 22nd	@ TOR	Kevin Gausman (5-10)	#27	@ LAA	Grayson Rodriguez (3-3)	#126
Sat, May 23rd	@ TOR	Patrick Corbin (3-4)	#300	@ LAA	Walbert Urena (6-7)	#294
Sun, May 24th	@ TOR	Dylan Cease (7-5)	#9	@ LAA	Reid Detmers (3-7)	#33
Mon, May 25th	vs CHC	Ben Brown (4-2)	#93	vs HOU	Tatsuya Imai (6-4)	#139
Tue, May 26th	vs CHC	Jordan Wicks (0-2)	#226	vs HOU	Jason Alexander (1-1)	#399
Wed, May 27th	vs CHC	Jameson Taillon (2-6)	#220	vs HOU	Mike Burrows (4-9)	#210
Thu, May 28th	vs CHC	Colin Rea (8-7)	#176	vs HOU	Spencer Arrighetti (7-5)	#282
Fri, May 29th	vs MIN	Taj Bradley (9-4)	#51	vs KC	Stephen Kolek (4-3)	#357
Sat, May 30th	vs MIN	Bailey Ober (7-3)	#90	vs KC	Seth Lugo (4-6)	#129
Sun, May 31st	vs MIN	Zebby Matthews (4-8)	#131	vs KC	Michael Wacha (5-8)	#73
Tue, Jun 2nd	@ HOU	Mike Burrows (4-9)	#210	@ STL	Dustin May (5-7)	#55
Wed, Jun 3rd	@ HOU	Spencer Arrighetti (7-5)	#282	@ STL	Andre Pallante (11-6)	#109
Thu, Jun 4th	@ HOU	Kai-Wei Teng (5-6)	#261
Fri, Jun 5th	@ ATL	Martin Perez (7-6)	#216	vs CLE	Parker Messick (8-6)	#44
Sat, Jun 6th	@ ATL	Spencer Strider (4-2)	#267	vs CLE	Tanner Bibee (4-11)	#53
Sun, Jun 7th	@ ATL	Bryce Elder (7-6)	#136	vs CLE	Joey Cantillo (8-6)	#88
Tue, Jun 9th	vs LAD	Eric Lauer (6-5)	#347	@ KC	Stephen Kolek (4-3)	#357
Wed, Jun 10th	vs LAD	Shohei Ohtani (8-2)	#1	@ KC	Seth Lugo (4-6)	#129
Thu, Jun 11th	vs LAD	Justin Wrobleski (11-2)	#80	@ KC	Michael Wacha (5-8)	#73
Fri, Jun 12th	vs MIA	Sandy Alcantara (11-6)	#60	@ BOS	Sonny Gray (13-2)	#28
Sat, Jun 13th	vs MIA	Lake Bachar (1-2)	#194	@ BOS	Ranger Suarez (4-3)	#22
Sun, Jun 14th	vs MIA	Max Meyer (9-1)	#75	@ BOS	Connelly Early (7-5)	#163
Mon, Jun 15th	@ ATH	J.T. Ginn (8-6)	#160	vs MIN	Mike Paredes (0-3)	#403
Tue, Jun 16th	@ ATH	Jack Perkins (2-7)	#98	vs MIN	Zebby Matthews (4-8)	#131
Wed, Jun 17th	@ ATH	Aaron Civale (5-7)	#202
Fri, Jun 19th	@ COL	Kyle Freeland (2-10)	#394	vs SD	Randy Vasquez (6-6)	#252
Sat, Jun 20th	@ COL	Tomoyuki Sugano (11-4)	#437	vs SD	Walker Buehler (6-5)	#213
Sun, Jun 21st	@ COL	Michael Lorenzen (3-9)	#436	vs SD	Wandy Peralta (2-2)	#244
Tue, Jun 23rd	vs SEA	George Kirby (8-9)	#21	@ MIA	Sandy Alcantara (11-6)	#60
Wed, Jun 24th	vs SEA	Bryan Woo (7-8)	#13	@ MIA	Eury Perez (5-8)	#41
Thu, Jun 25th	vs SEA	Bryce Miller (4-5)	#39	@ TOR	Kevin Gausman (5-10)	#27
Fri, Jun 26th	vs CIN	Andrew Abbott (5-7)	#106	@ TOR	Patrick Corbin (3-4)	#300
Sat, Jun 27th	vs CIN	Chase Burns (12-1)	#29	@ TOR	Dylan Cease (7-5)	#9
Sun, Jun 28th	vs CIN	Brady Singer (5-10)	#151	@ TOR	Shane Bieber (2-2)	#91
Mon, Jun 29th	@ PHI	Aaron Nola (3-9)	#59	@ CLE	Parker Messick (8-6)	#44
Tue, Jun 30th	@ PHI	Cristopher Sanchez (14-4)	#3	@ CLE	Tanner Bibee (4-11)	#53
Wed, Jul 1st	@ PHI	Zack Wheeler (10-2)	#6	@ CLE	Joey Cantillo (8-6)	#88
Thu, Jul 2nd	@ PHI	Alan Rangel (0-3)	#303	vs DET	Framber Valdez (6-7)	#32
Fri, Jul 3rd	@ WSH	Foster Griffin (12-3)	#56
Sat, Jul 4th	@ WSH	Carson Palmquist (0-1)	#306	vs DET	Jack Flaherty (3-8)	#94
Sun, Jul 5th	@ WSH	Cade Cavalli (8-4)	#54	vs DET	Casey Mize (4-6)	#38
Tue, Jul 7th	vs ATL	Hurston Waldrep (0-1)	#322	vs LAA	Jose Soriano (9-6)	#52
Wed, Jul 8th	vs ATL	Grant Holmes (6-4)	#144	vs LAA	Walbert Urena (6-7)	#294
Thu, Jul 9th	vs ATL	Bryce Elder (7-6)	#136	vs LAA	Reid Detmers (3-7)	#33
Sat, Jul 11th	vs MIL	Shane Drohan (6-4)	#72	vs HOU	Peter Lambert (8-5)	#153
Sun, Jul 12th	vs MIL	Robert Gasser (3-4)	#115	vs HOU	Cristian Javier (1-1)	#175
Sat, Jul 18th	@ CLE	Logan Allen (0-0)	#154	@ ATL	Owen Murphy (0-1)	#228
Sun, Jul 19th	@ CLE	Joey Cantillo (8-6)	#88	@ ATL	Grant Holmes (6-4)	#144
Mon, Jul 20th	@ NYY	Ryan Weathers (4-7)	#71	vs CWS	Erick Fedde (6-6)	#372
Wed, Jul 22nd	@ NYY	Max Fried (4-3)	#16	vs CWS	Anthony Kay (7-5)	#182
Fri, Jul 24th	vs CHC	Matthew Boyd (6-1)	#37	vs SEA	Bryce Miller (4-5)	#39
Sat, Jul 25th	vs CHC	Shota Imanaga (7-9)	#23	vs SEA	Bryan Woo (7-8)	#13
Sun, Jul 26th	vs CHC	Jameson Taillon (2-6)	#220	vs SEA	Logan Gilbert (8-6)	#10
Mon, Jul 27th	vs ARI	Merrill Kelly (8-8)	#124	vs SEA	George Kirby (8-9)	#21
Tue, Jul 28th	vs ARI	Brandon Pfaadt (5-1)	#77	@ TB	Griffin Jax (6-8)	#58
Wed, Jul 29th	vs ARI	Eduardo Rodriguez (10-3)	#128	@ TB	Casey Legumina (2-2)	#275
Thu, Jul 30th	@ CIN	Rhett Lowder (3-7)	#277	@ TB	Shane McClanahan (9-6)	#49
Fri, Jul 31st	@ CIN	Hunter Greene (2-2)	#26	@ HOU	Hunter Brown (3-1)	#17
Sat, Aug 1st	@ CIN	Andrew Abbott (5-7)	#106	@ HOU	Ronel Blanco (0-1)	#127
Sun, Aug 2nd	@ CIN	Chase Burns (12-1)	#29	@ HOU	Peter Lambert (8-5)	#153
Mon, Aug 3rd	@ MIL	Brandon Sproat (3-6)	#141	vs SF	Logan Webb (6-7)	#18
Tue, Aug 4th	@ MIL	Logan Henderson (5-1)	#36	vs SF	Robbie Ray (10-6)	#96
Wed, Aug 5th	@ MIL	Shane Drohan (6-4)	#72	vs SF	Carson Whisenhunt (2-2)	#179
Thu, Aug 6th	@ MIL	Robert Gasser (3-4)	#115
Fri, Aug 7th	vs NYM	Freddy Peralta (5-9)	#40	vs BAL	Shane Baz (4-10)	#70
Sat, Aug 8th	vs NYM	Zac Thornton (2-2)	#143	vs BAL	Kyle Bradish (7-9)	#45
Sun, Aug 9th	vs NYM	Christian Scott (3-3)	#50	vs BAL	Dean Kremer (1-4)	#116
Tue, Aug 11th	@ MIA	Eury Perez (5-8)	#41	@ LAA
Wed, Aug 12th	@ MIA			@ LAA
Thu, Aug 13th	@ MIA			@ LAA
Fri, Aug 14th	vs BOS			@ ATH
Sat, Aug 15th	vs BOS			@ ATH
Sun, Aug 16th	vs BOS			@ ATH
Mon, Aug 17th	vs DET
Tue, Aug 18th	vs DET			vs WSH
Wed, Aug 19th	vs DET			vs WSH
Fri, Aug 21st	@ LAD			vs LAA
Sat, Aug 22nd	@ LAD			vs LAA
Sun, Aug 23rd	@ LAD			vs LAA
Mon, Aug 24th	@ SD			@ CWS
Tue, Aug 25th	@ SD			@ CWS
Wed, Aug 26th	@ SD			@ CWS
Fri, Aug 28th	@ STL			@ MIL
Sat, Aug 29th	@ STL			@ MIL
Sun, Aug 30th	@ STL			@ MIL
Tue, Sep 1st	vs SF			vs ATH
Wed, Sep 2nd	vs SF			vs ATH
Thu, Sep 3rd	vs SF			vs TB
Fri, Sep 4th	vs LAA			vs TB
Sat, Sep 5th	vs LAA			vs TB
Sun, Sep 6th	vs LAA			vs TB
Tue, Sep 8th	@ CWS			@ SEA
Wed, Sep 9th	@ CWS			@ SEA
Thu, Sep 10th	@ CWS			@ SEA
Fri, Sep 11th	@ CHC			@ ARI
Sat, Sep 12th	@ CHC			@ ARI
Sun, Sep 13th	@ CHC			@ ARI
Tue, Sep 15th	vs MIL			vs BOS
Wed, Sep 16th	vs MIL			vs BOS
Thu, Sep 17th	vs MIL			vs BOS
Fri, Sep 18th	vs KC			vs TOR
Sat, Sep 19th	vs KC			vs TOR
Sun, Sep 20th	vs KC			vs TOR
Tue, Sep 22nd	vs STL			vs NYM
Wed, Sep 23rd	vs STL			vs NYM
Thu, Sep 24th	vs STL			vs NYM
Fri, Sep 25th	@ DET			@ MIN
Sat, Sep 26th	@ DET			@ MIN
Sun, Sep 27th	@ DET			@ MIN
Mon, May 11th				vs ARI	Michael Soroka (8-3)	#67
Mon, May 18th				@ COL	Jose Quintana (2-3)	#433
Mon, Jun 1st				@ STL	Michael McGreevy (4-9)	#95
Thu, Jun 18th				vs MIN	Joe Ryan (6-7)	#19
Mon, Jun 22nd				@ MIA	Tyler Phillips (3-5)	#283
Fri, Jul 10th				vs HOU	Hunter Brown (3-1)	#17
Fri, Jul 17th				@ ATL	Chris Sale (12-6)	#8
Tue, Jul 21st				vs CWS	Noah Schultz (3-8)	#209
Mon, Aug 10th				@ LAA	Grayson Rodriguez (3-3)	#126
Thu, Aug 20th				vs WSH
Mon, Aug 31st				vs ATH

Who Should I Trade?

Esmerlyn Valdez for Jake Burger (2026)

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