Who Should I Trade?

Esmerlyn Valdez for Jake McCarthy (2026)

Summary
Stats
Projections
News & Notes
Schedule

Who Should I Trade? Player Summaries
	Experts' Pick
	Jake McCarthy LF,CF,RF - COL	Esmerlyn Valdez 1B,LF,RF - PIT
Expert Recommendation	83% Recommended by 5 of 6 experts	17% Recommended by 1 of 6 experts
Rankings

Rest of Season	# 119	# 167
VBR	# 141	# 227

Projections

Runs	21	17
Home Runs	3	6
RBI	17	20
Stolen Bases	7	0
Batting Average	.272	.239

Misc

Injury Alert	-	-

Expert Ranks

Scott Pianowski Yahoo! Sports	# 78	# 118

Dalton Del Don The Deep Shot	# 136	‐

Mike Maher BettingPros	# 173	‐

Kelly Kirby FantasyPros	# 139	# 188

Kevin Spinelli KevScores	# 85	# 128

Chris Welsh FantasyPros	# 141	# 99

Who Should I Trade? Player Statistics
	Jake McCarthy LF,CF,RF - COL	Esmerlyn Valdez 1B,LF,RF - PIT
2026 Stats


At Bats	332	140

Runs	46	27

Hits	95	38

Singles	57	14

Doubles	21	9

Triples	7	1

Home Runs	10	14

RBI	59	37

Stolen Bases	17	0

Caught Stealing	4	1

Walks	18	21

Strikeouts	66	57

Batting Average	.286	.271

On Base Pct	.328	.366

Slugging Pct	.482	.650

On-base Plus Slugging	.810	1.016

Who Should I Trade? Player Projections
	Jake McCarthy LF,CF,RF - COL	Esmerlyn Valdez 1B,LF,RF - PIT
2026 Projections


At Bats	144	127

Runs	21	17

Hits	39	30

Singles	27	18

Doubles	7	6

Triples	2	0

Home Runs	3	6

RBI	17	20

Stolen Bases	7	0

Caught Stealing	2	0

Walks	10	14

Strikeouts	28	42

Batting Average	.272	.239

On Base Pct	.327	.322

Slugging Pct	.412	.442

On-base Plus Slugging	.739	.765

Who Should I Trade? Player Notes
	Jake McCarthy LF,CF,RF - COL	Esmerlyn Valdez 1B,LF,RF - PIT
News
	Jake McCarthy went 2-for-5 in Saturday's 10-3 win over the Reds with a double, two runs scored, two RBI, and one stolen base. Chris Schommer Sun, Jul 19th	Esmerlyn Valdez is expected to be in the lineup in Tuesday's game against the Diamondbacks. Ari Koslow Tue, Jul 28th
	Jake McCarthy went 1-for-3 in a loss to the Reds with one walk and one stolen base. Chris Schommer Sat, Jul 18th	The Pirates didn’t provide an update on Esmerlyn Valdez following Monday’s game against the Diamondbacks. Ari Koslow Tue, Jul 28th
	Jake McCarthy went 1-for-3 in a loss to the Giants with an inside-the-park solo home run, one stolen base, and one walk. Chris Schommer Sun, Jul 12th	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
	The Astros are expected to show interest in Jake McCarthy ahead of the trade deadline. Ari Koslow Mon, Jul 6th	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 McCarthy went 4-for-5 in a 15-3 win over the Giants with two home runs, two runs scored, six RBI, and one stolen base. Chris Schommer Sat, Jul 4th	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
	Jake McCarthy LF,CF,RF - COL			Esmerlyn Valdez 1B,LF,RF - PIT
Thu, Mar 26th				@ NYM	Freddy Peralta (5-9)	#37
Sat, Mar 28th	@ MIA	Eury Perez (5-8)	#38	@ NYM	David Peterson (6-7)	#85
Sun, Mar 29th	@ MIA	Max Meyer (9-1)	#78	@ NYM	Nolan McLean (7-7)	#29
Mon, Mar 30th	@ TOR	Cody Ponce (0-0)		@ CIN	Chase Burns (12-1)	#31
Tue, Mar 31st	@ TOR	Max Scherzer (1-4)	#143	@ CIN	Brandon Williamson (2-3)	#337
Wed, Apr 1st	@ TOR	Kevin Gausman (4-10)	#27	@ CIN	Andrew Abbott (5-6)	#105
Fri, Apr 3rd	vs PHI	Aaron Nola (3-9)	#59	vs BAL	Kyle Bradish (7-9)	#49
Sat, Apr 4th	vs PHI	Jesus Luzardo (9-5)	#11	vs BAL	Shane Baz (4-9)	#71
Sun, Apr 5th	vs PHI	Taijuan Walker (1-4)		vs BAL	Chris Bassitt (4-4)	#181
Mon, Apr 6th	vs HOU	Cody Bolton (0-1)	#322	vs SD	German Marquez (4-2)	#335
Tue, Apr 7th	vs HOU	Mike Burrows (4-9)	#215	vs SD	Nick Pivetta (1-2)	#76
Wed, Apr 8th	vs HOU	Cristian Javier (1-1)	#170	vs SD	Michael King (6-7)	#57
Fri, Apr 10th	@ SD	Walker Buehler (6-5)	#229	@ CHC	Shota Imanaga (7-9)	#26
Sat, Apr 11th	@ SD	German Marquez (4-2)	#335	@ CHC	Edward Cabrera (5-4)	#75
Sun, Apr 12th	@ SD	Nick Pivetta (1-2)	#76	@ CHC	Jameson Taillon (2-6)	#213
Mon, Apr 13th				vs WSH	Cade Cavalli (8-4)	#55
Tue, Apr 14th	@ HOU	Colton Gordon (0-0)	#250	vs WSH	PJ Poulin (3-0)	#308
Wed, Apr 15th	@ HOU	Spencer Arrighetti (7-5)	#268	vs WSH	Jake Irvin (2-5)	#168
Thu, Apr 16th	@ HOU	Ryan Weiss (0-3)	#368	vs WSH	Foster Griffin (12-3)	#53
Fri, Apr 17th	vs LAD	Tyler Glasnow (3-0)	#66	vs TB	Nick Martinez (10-3)	#93
Sat, Apr 18th	vs LAD	Emmet Sheehan (4-7)	#42	vs TB	Drew Rasmussen (9-5)	#19
Sun, Apr 19th	vs LAD	Roki Sasaki (5-5)	#94	vs TB	Shane McClanahan (9-6)	#41
Tue, Apr 21st	vs SD	Randy Vasquez (6-6)	#251	@ TEX	Kumar Rocker (4-8)	#80
Wed, Apr 22nd	vs SD	Walker Buehler (6-5)	#229	@ TEX	Jack Leiter (3-7)	#124
Thu, Apr 23rd	vs SD	Matt Waldron (1-2)	#336	@ TEX	Jacob deGrom (7-6)	#8
Fri, Apr 24th	@ NYM	Freddy Peralta (5-9)	#37	@ MIL	Brandon Woodruff (2-2)
Sat, Apr 25th				@ MIL	Jacob Misiorowski (11-4)	#6
Sun, Apr 26th	@ NYM	Kodai Senga (0-8)	#189	@ MIL	Kyle Harrison (8-2)	#47
Mon, Apr 27th				vs STL	Dustin May (5-7)	#56
Tue, Apr 28th	@ CIN	Chase Burns (12-1)	#31	vs STL	Kyle Leahy (7-4)	#103
Wed, Apr 29th	@ CIN	Brandon Williamson (2-3)	#337	vs STL	Andre Pallante (11-6)	#110
Thu, Apr 30th	@ CIN	Andrew Abbott (5-6)	#105	vs STL	Hunter Dobbins (2-1)	#169
Fri, May 1st	vs ATL	Grant Holmes (6-4)	#142	vs CIN	Brady Singer (5-10)	#148
Sat, May 2nd	vs ATL	Chris Sale (12-6)	#7	vs CIN	Rhett Lowder (3-7)	#290
Sun, May 3rd	vs ATL	Spencer Strider (4-2)	#296	vs CIN	Chase Burns (12-1)	#31
Tue, May 5th				@ ARI	Eduardo Rodriguez (10-3)	#133
Wed, May 6th	vs NYM	Freddy Peralta (5-9)	#37	@ ARI	Michael Soroka (8-3)	#63
Thu, May 7th	vs NYM	Christian Scott (3-3)	#50	@ ARI	Zac Gallen (3-9)	#166
Fri, May 8th	@ PHI	Jesus Luzardo (9-5)	#11	@ SF	Robbie Ray (10-6)	#100
Sat, May 9th	@ PHI	Aaron Nola (3-9)	#59	@ SF	Landen Roupp (7-9)	#62
Sun, May 10th	@ PHI	Cristopher Sanchez (13-4)	#4	@ SF	Tyler Mahle (3-9)	#81
Tue, May 12th	@ PIT	Paul Skenes (9-9)	#3	vs COL	Michael Lorenzen (3-9)	#433
Wed, May 13th	@ PIT	Mitch Keller (6-7)	#113	vs COL	Jose Quintana (2-3)	#430
Thu, May 14th	@ PIT	Mason Montgomery (4-3)	#101	vs COL	Chase Dollander (3-3)
Fri, May 15th	vs ARI	Merrill Kelly (8-8)	#122	vs PHI	Aaron Nola (3-9)	#59
Sat, May 16th	vs ARI	Eduardo Rodriguez (10-3)	#133	vs PHI	Cristopher Sanchez (13-4)	#4
Sun, May 17th	vs ARI	Michael Soroka (8-3)	#63	vs PHI	Zack Wheeler (10-2)	#5
Tue, May 19th	vs TEX	Tyler Alexander (1-1)	#177	@ STL	Matthew Liberatore (5-8)	#125
Wed, May 20th	vs TEX	Jack Leiter (3-7)	#124	@ STL	Michael McGreevy (4-9)	#98
Thu, May 21st	@ ARI	Eduardo Rodriguez (10-3)	#133	@ STL	Dustin May (5-7)	#56
Fri, May 22nd	@ ARI	Michael Soroka (8-3)	#63	@ TOR	Kevin Gausman (4-10)	#27
Sat, May 23rd	@ ARI	Zac Gallen (3-9)	#166	@ TOR	Patrick Corbin (3-4)	#304
Sun, May 24th	@ ARI	Ryne Nelson (3-5)	#200	@ TOR	Dylan Cease (7-5)	#9
Mon, May 25th	@ LAD	Emmet Sheehan (4-7)	#42	vs CHC	Ben Brown (4-2)	#91
Tue, May 26th	@ LAD	Eric Lauer (6-5)	#338	vs CHC	Jordan Wicks (0-2)	#232
Wed, May 27th	@ LAD	Shohei Ohtani (8-2)	#1	vs CHC	Jameson Taillon (2-6)	#213
Thu, May 28th				vs CHC	Colin Rea (8-7)	#175
Fri, May 29th	vs SF	Logan Webb (6-7)	#17	vs MIN	Taj Bradley (9-4)	#51
Sat, May 30th	vs SF	Adrian Houser (2-7)	#185	vs MIN	Bailey Ober (7-3)	#86
Sun, May 31st	vs SF	Robbie Ray (10-6)	#100	vs MIN	Zebby Matthews (4-8)	#127
Tue, Jun 2nd	@ LAA	Grayson Rodriguez (3-3)	#128	@ HOU	Mike Burrows (4-9)	#215
Wed, Jun 3rd	@ LAA	Walbert Urena (6-7)	#286	@ HOU	Spencer Arrighetti (7-5)	#268
Thu, Jun 4th				@ HOU	Kai-Wei Teng (5-6)	#265
Fri, Jun 5th	vs MIL	Brandon Sproat (3-6)	#151	@ ATL	Martin Perez (6-6)	#235
Sat, Jun 6th	vs MIL	Jacob Misiorowski (11-4)	#6	@ ATL	Spencer Strider (4-2)	#296
Sun, Jun 7th	vs MIL	Shane Drohan (6-4)	#72	@ ATL	Bryce Elder (7-6)	#132
Tue, Jun 9th	vs CHC	Colin Rea (8-7)	#175	vs LAD	Eric Lauer (6-5)	#338
Wed, Jun 10th	vs CHC	Shota Imanaga (7-9)	#26	vs LAD	Shohei Ohtani (8-2)	#1
Thu, Jun 11th	vs CHC	Edward Cabrera (5-4)	#75	vs LAD	Justin Wrobleski (11-2)	#79
Fri, Jun 12th	@ ATH	Gage Jump (4-6)	#87	vs MIA	Sandy Alcantara (11-6)	#61
Sat, Jun 13th	@ ATH	Joey Estes (0-0)	#393	vs MIA	Lake Bachar (1-2)	#190
Sun, Jun 14th	@ ATH	Jeffrey Springs (3-11)	#242	vs MIA	Max Meyer (9-1)	#78
Mon, Jun 15th	@ CHC	Shota Imanaga (7-9)	#26	@ ATH	J.T. Ginn (8-6)	#161
Tue, Jun 16th	@ CHC	Edward Cabrera (5-4)	#75	@ ATH	Jack Perkins (2-6)	#102
Wed, Jun 17th	@ CHC	Javier Assad (6-1)	#165	@ ATH	Aaron Civale (5-7)	#192
Fri, Jun 19th	vs PIT	Bubba Chandler (3-8)	#106	@ COL	Kyle Freeland (2-10)	#362
Sat, Jun 20th	vs PIT	Paul Skenes (9-9)	#3	@ COL	Tomoyuki Sugano (11-4)	#434
Sun, Jun 21st	vs PIT	Jared Jones (2-2)	#48	@ COL	Michael Lorenzen (3-9)	#433
Tue, Jun 23rd	vs BOS	Sonny Gray (13-2)	#30	vs SEA	George Kirby (8-9)	#21
Wed, Jun 24th	vs BOS	Ranger Suarez (4-3)	#23	vs SEA	Bryan Woo (7-8)	#13
Thu, Jun 25th				vs SEA	Bryce Miller (4-5)	#36
Fri, Jun 26th	@ MIN	Taj Bradley (9-4)	#51	vs CIN	Andrew Abbott (5-6)	#105
Sat, Jun 27th	@ MIN	Mike Paredes (0-3)	#291	vs CIN	Chase Burns (12-1)	#31
Sun, Jun 28th	@ MIN	Connor Prielipp (3-5)	#99	vs CIN	Brady Singer (5-10)	#148
Mon, Jun 29th	vs MIA	Sandy Alcantara (11-6)	#61	@ PHI	Aaron Nola (3-9)	#59
Tue, Jun 30th	vs MIA	Eury Perez (5-8)	#38	@ PHI	Cristopher Sanchez (13-4)	#4
Wed, Jul 1st	vs MIA	Max Meyer (9-1)	#78	@ PHI	Zack Wheeler (10-2)	#5
Thu, Jul 2nd	vs MIA	Ryan Gusto (0-2)	#216	@ PHI	Alan Rangel (0-3)	#293
Fri, Jul 3rd	vs SF	Logan Webb (6-7)	#17	@ WSH	Foster Griffin (12-3)	#53
Sat, Jul 4th	vs SF	Robbie Ray (10-6)	#100	@ WSH	Carson Palmquist (0-1)	#301
Sun, Jul 5th	vs SF	Tyler Mahle (3-9)	#81	@ WSH	Cade Cavalli (8-4)	#55
Tue, Jul 7th	@ LAD	Justin Wrobleski (11-2)	#79	vs ATL	Hurston Waldrep (0-1)	#312
Wed, Jul 8th	@ LAD	Roki Sasaki (5-5)	#94	vs ATL	Grant Holmes (6-4)	#142
Thu, Jul 9th	@ SF	Carson Whisenhunt (2-2)	#167	vs ATL	Bryce Elder (7-6)	#132
Sat, Jul 11th	@ SF	Tyler Mahle (3-9)	#81	vs MIL	Shane Drohan (6-4)	#72
Sun, Jul 12th	@ SF	Trevor McDonald (3-7)		vs MIL	Robert Gasser (3-4)	#115
Sat, Jul 18th	vs CIN	Rhett Lowder (3-7)	#290	@ CLE	Logan Allen (0-0)	#160
Sun, Jul 19th	vs CIN	Hunter Greene (2-2)	#28	@ CLE	Joey Cantillo (8-6)	#89
Mon, Jul 20th	vs WSH	Andrew Alvarez (2-3)	#193	@ NYY	Ryan Weathers (4-7)	#69
Wed, Jul 22nd	vs WSH	Cade Cavalli (8-4)	#55	@ NYY	Max Fried (4-3)	#16
Fri, Jul 24th	@ MIL	Shane Drohan (6-4)	#72	vs CHC	Matthew Boyd (6-1)	#39
Sat, Jul 25th	@ MIL	Robert Gasser (3-4)	#115	vs CHC	Shota Imanaga (7-9)	#26
Sun, Jul 26th	@ MIL	Jacob Misiorowski (11-4)	#6	vs CHC	Jameson Taillon (2-6)	#213
Mon, Jul 27th				vs ARI	Merrill Kelly (8-8)	#122
Tue, Jul 28th	@ SD	Michael King (6-7)	#57	vs ARI	Brandon Pfaadt (5-1)	#83
Wed, Jul 29th	@ SD	Kyle Hart (0-2)	#221	vs ARI	Eduardo Rodriguez (10-3)	#133
Thu, Jul 30th				@ CIN	Rhett Lowder (3-7)	#290
Fri, Jul 31st	vs KC	Michael Wacha (5-8)	#74	@ CIN	Hunter Greene (2-2)	#28
Sat, Aug 1st	vs KC	Luinder Avila (5-3)	#275	@ CIN	Andrew Abbott (5-6)	#105
Sun, Aug 2nd	vs KC	Seth Lugo (4-6)	#130	@ CIN	Chase Burns (12-1)	#31
Mon, Aug 3rd	vs TB	Ian Seymour (7-3)	#77	@ MIL	Brandon Sproat (3-6)	#151
Tue, Aug 4th	vs TB	Shane McClanahan (9-6)	#41	@ MIL	Logan Henderson (5-1)	#40
Wed, Aug 5th	vs TB	Nick Martinez (10-3)	#93	@ MIL	Shane Drohan (6-4)	#72
Thu, Aug 6th				@ MIL	Robert Gasser (3-4)	#115
Fri, Aug 7th	@ STL	Kyle Leahy (7-4)	#103	vs NYM	Freddy Peralta (5-9)	#37
Sat, Aug 8th	@ STL	Quinn Mathews	#208	vs NYM	Clay Holmes (4-4)	#116
Sun, Aug 9th	@ STL	Matthew Liberatore (5-8)	#125	vs NYM	Christian Scott (3-3)	#50
Tue, Aug 11th	@ ARI			@ MIA
Wed, Aug 12th	@ ARI			@ MIA
Thu, Aug 13th				@ MIA
Fri, Aug 14th	@ SF			vs BOS
Sat, Aug 15th	@ SF			vs BOS
Sun, Aug 16th	@ SF			vs BOS
Mon, Aug 17th	vs LAD			vs DET
Tue, Aug 18th	vs LAD			vs DET
Wed, Aug 19th	vs LAD			vs DET
Fri, Aug 21st	vs CLE			@ LAD
Sat, Aug 22nd	vs CLE			@ LAD
Sun, Aug 23rd	vs CLE			@ LAD
Mon, Aug 24th	@ WSH			@ SD
Tue, Aug 25th	@ WSH			@ SD
Wed, Aug 26th	@ WSH			@ SD
Fri, Aug 28th	@ ATL			@ STL
Sat, Aug 29th	@ ATL			@ STL
Sun, Aug 30th	@ ATL			@ STL
Tue, Sep 1st	vs BAL			vs SF
Wed, Sep 2nd	vs BAL			vs SF
Thu, Sep 3rd				vs SF
Fri, Sep 4th	vs STL			vs LAA
Sat, Sep 5th	vs STL			vs LAA
Sun, Sep 6th	vs STL			vs LAA
Tue, Sep 8th	@ NYY			@ CWS
Wed, Sep 9th	@ NYY			@ CWS
Thu, Sep 10th	@ NYY			@ CWS
Fri, Sep 11th	@ DET			@ CHC
Sat, Sep 12th	@ DET			@ CHC
Sun, Sep 13th	@ DET			@ CHC
Tue, Sep 15th	vs SD			vs MIL
Wed, Sep 16th	vs SD			vs MIL
Thu, Sep 17th	vs SD			vs MIL
Fri, Sep 18th	vs SEA			vs KC
Sat, Sep 19th	vs SEA			vs KC
Sun, Sep 20th	vs SEA			vs KC
Tue, Sep 22nd	vs ARI			vs STL
Wed, Sep 23rd	vs ARI			vs STL
Thu, Sep 24th	vs ARI			vs STL
Fri, Sep 25th	@ CWS			@ DET
Sat, Sep 26th	@ CWS			@ DET
Sun, Sep 27th	@ CWS			@ DET
Fri, Mar 27th	@ MIA	Sandy Alcantara (11-6)	#61
Thu, Apr 9th	@ SD	Randy Vasquez (6-6)	#251
Mon, Apr 20th	vs LAD	Justin Wrobleski (11-2)	#79
Mon, May 4th	vs NYM	Huascar Brazoban (5-2)	#184
Mon, May 18th	vs TEX	MacKenzie Gore (6-9)	#35
Mon, Jun 1st	@ LAA	Jose Soriano (9-6)	#52
Mon, Jun 22nd	vs BOS	Jake Bennett (6-4)	#88
Mon, Jul 6th	@ LAD	Eric Lauer (6-5)	#338
Fri, Jul 10th	@ SF	Robbie Ray (10-6)	#100
Fri, Jul 17th	vs CIN	Brady Singer (5-10)	#148
Tue, Jul 21st	vs WSH	Carson Palmquist (0-1)	#301
Mon, Aug 10th	@ ARI	Michael Soroka (8-3)	#63
Thu, Aug 27th	@ WSH
Mon, Aug 31st	vs BAL
Mon, Sep 14th	vs SD

Who Should I Trade?

Esmerlyn Valdez for Jake McCarthy (2026)

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