Who Should I Trade?

Esmerlyn Valdez for John Rave (2026)

Summary
Stats
Projections
News & Notes
Schedule

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

Rest of Season	# 167	‐
VBR	# 197	# 1235

Projections

Runs	19	4
Home Runs	7	1
RBI	21	4
Stolen Bases	1	1
Batting Average	.237	.225

Misc

Injury Alert	-	-

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	John Rave LF,CF,RF - KC
2026 Stats


At Bats	142	28

Runs	27	5

Hits	38	9

Singles	14	2

Doubles	9	4

Triples	1	1

Home Runs	14	2

RBI	38	2

Stolen Bases	0	1

Caught Stealing	1	0

Walks	23	3

Strikeouts	57	8

Batting Average	.268	.321

On Base Pct	.369	.387

Slugging Pct	.641	.750

On-base Plus Slugging	1.010	1.137

Who Should I Trade? Player Projections
	Esmerlyn Valdez 1B,LF,RF - PIT	John Rave LF,CF,RF - KC
2026 Projections


At Bats	135	34

Runs	19	4

Hits	32	8

Singles	19	5

Doubles	6	2

Triples	0	0

Home Runs	7	1

RBI	21	4

Stolen Bases	1	1

Caught Stealing	0	0

Walks	15	4

Strikeouts	44	9

Batting Average	.237	.225

On Base Pct	.319	.302

Slugging Pct	.437	.372

On-base Plus Slugging	.756	.674

Who Should I Trade? Player Notes
	Esmerlyn Valdez 1B,LF,RF - PIT	John Rave LF,CF,RF - KC
News
	Esmerlyn Valdez is expected to be in the lineup in Tuesday's game against the Diamondbacks. Ari Koslow Tue, Jul 28th	John Rave went 2-for-3 in a 4-3 loss to the Twins with two doubles, one run scored and one stolen base. Chase Davis Fri, Jul 31st
	The Pirates didn’t provide an update on Esmerlyn Valdez following Monday’s game against the Diamondbacks. Ari Koslow Tue, Jul 28th	The Royals recalled OF John Rave from Triple-A Omaha. Ari Koslow Wed, Jul 29th
	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 Royals optioned John Rave to Triple-A Omaha. Ari Koslow Thu, Jul 2nd
	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	John Rave went 2-for-4 in a 6-2 win over the Nationals with a home run, a triple, two runs scored, one RBI and one strikeout. Chase Davis Thu, Jun 18th
	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	Outfielder John Rave has been optioned to Triple-A Omaha by the Kansas City Royals. David Leisering Tue, Mar 17th
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			John Rave LF,CF,RF - KC
Thu, Mar 26th	@ NYM	Freddy Peralta (5-9)	#40
Sat, Mar 28th	@ NYM	David Peterson (6-7)	#89	@ ATL	Reynaldo Lopez (4-3)	#82
Sun, Mar 29th	@ NYM	Nolan McLean (7-7)	#34	@ ATL	Grant Holmes (6-4)	#144
Mon, Mar 30th	@ CIN	Chase Burns (12-1)	#29	vs MIN	Simeon Woods Richardson (1-7)
Tue, Mar 31st	@ CIN	Brandon Williamson (2-3)	#350
Wed, Apr 1st	@ CIN	Andrew Abbott (5-7)	#106	vs MIN	Joe Ryan (6-7)	#19
Fri, Apr 3rd	vs BAL	Kyle Bradish (7-9)	#45
Sat, Apr 4th	vs BAL	Shane Baz (4-10)	#70	vs MIL	Logan Henderson (5-1)	#36
Sun, Apr 5th	vs BAL	Chris Bassitt (4-4)	#134	vs MIL	Kyle Harrison (8-2)	#43
Mon, Apr 6th	vs SD	German Marquez (4-2)	#334	@ CLE	Tanner Bibee (4-11)	#53
Tue, Apr 7th	vs SD	Nick Pivetta (1-2)	#101	@ CLE	Gavin Williams (10-6)	#24
Wed, Apr 8th	vs SD	Michael King (6-7)	#57	@ CLE	Joey Cantillo (8-6)	#88
Fri, Apr 10th	@ CHC	Shota Imanaga (7-9)	#23	vs CWS	Davis Martin (9-5)	#81
Sat, Apr 11th	@ CHC	Edward Cabrera (5-4)	#76	vs CWS	Erick Fedde (6-6)	#372
Sun, Apr 12th	@ CHC	Jameson Taillon (2-6)	#220	vs CWS	Grant Taylor (4-2)	#46
Mon, Apr 13th	vs WSH	Cade Cavalli (8-4)	#54
Tue, Apr 14th	vs WSH	PJ Poulin (3-0)	#290	@ DET	Framber Valdez (6-7)	#32
Wed, Apr 15th	vs WSH	Jake Irvin (2-5)	#169	@ DET	Jack Flaherty (3-8)	#94
Thu, Apr 16th	vs WSH	Foster Griffin (12-3)	#56	@ DET	Keider Montero (7-6)	#145
Fri, Apr 17th	vs TB	Nick Martinez (10-3)	#97	@ NYY	Cam Schlittler (10-6)	#14
Sat, Apr 18th	vs TB	Drew Rasmussen (10-5)	#20	@ NYY	Will Warren (8-5)	#69
Sun, Apr 19th	vs TB	Shane McClanahan (9-6)	#49	@ NYY	Ryan Weathers (4-7)	#71
Tue, Apr 21st	@ TEX	Kumar Rocker (4-8)	#79	vs BAL	Shane Baz (4-10)	#70
Wed, Apr 22nd	@ TEX	Jack Leiter (3-7)	#123	vs BAL	Chris Bassitt (4-4)	#134
Thu, Apr 23rd	@ TEX	Jacob deGrom (7-7)	#7
Fri, Apr 24th	@ MIL	Brandon Woodruff (2-2)		vs LAA	Yusei Kikuchi (0-3)	#122
Sat, Apr 25th	@ MIL	Jacob Misiorowski (11-4)	#5	vs LAA	Walbert Urena (6-7)	#294
Sun, Apr 26th	@ MIL	Kyle Harrison (8-2)	#43	vs LAA	Reid Detmers (3-7)	#33
Mon, Apr 27th	vs STL	Dustin May (5-7)	#55
Tue, Apr 28th	vs STL	Kyle Leahy (7-4)	#125	@ ATH	Aaron Civale (5-7)	#202
Wed, Apr 29th	vs STL	Andre Pallante (11-6)	#109	@ ATH	Luis Severino (2-6)	#231
Thu, Apr 30th	vs STL	Hunter Dobbins (2-1)	#162	@ ATH	Jeffrey Springs (3-11)	#246
Fri, May 1st	vs CIN	Brady Singer (5-10)	#151	@ SEA	Bryan Woo (7-8)	#13
Sat, May 2nd	vs CIN	Rhett Lowder (3-7)	#277	@ SEA	Emerson Hancock (6-5)	#105
Sun, May 3rd	vs CIN	Chase Burns (12-1)	#29	@ SEA	Luis Castillo (3-9)	#61
Tue, May 5th	@ ARI	Eduardo Rodriguez (10-3)	#128	vs CLE	Gavin Williams (10-6)	#24
Wed, May 6th	@ ARI	Michael Soroka (8-3)	#67	vs CLE	Joey Cantillo (8-6)	#88
Thu, May 7th	@ ARI	Zac Gallen (3-9)	#172	vs CLE	Slade Cecconi (4-7)	#135
Fri, May 8th	@ SF	Robbie Ray (10-6)	#96	vs DET	Keider Montero (7-6)	#145
Sat, May 9th	@ SF	Landen Roupp (7-9)	#63	vs DET	Burch Smith
Sun, May 10th	@ SF	Tyler Mahle (3-9)	#78	vs DET	Brenan Hanifee
Tue, May 12th	vs COL	Michael Lorenzen (3-9)	#436	@ CWS	Erick Fedde (6-6)	#372
Wed, May 13th	vs COL	Jose Quintana (2-3)	#433	@ CWS	Noah Schultz (3-8)	#209
Thu, May 14th	vs COL	Chase Dollander (3-3)		@ CWS	Anthony Kay (7-5)	#182
Fri, May 15th	vs PHI	Aaron Nola (3-9)	#59	@ STL	Dustin May (5-7)	#55
Sat, May 16th	vs PHI	Cristopher Sanchez (14-4)	#3	@ STL	Kyle Leahy (7-4)	#125
Sun, May 17th	vs PHI	Zack Wheeler (10-2)	#6	@ STL	Andre Pallante (11-6)	#109
Tue, May 19th	@ STL	Matthew Liberatore (5-8)	#118	vs BOS	Ranger Suarez (4-3)	#22
Wed, May 20th	@ STL	Michael McGreevy (4-9)	#95	vs BOS	Connelly Early (7-5)	#163
Thu, May 21st	@ STL	Dustin May (5-7)	#55
Fri, May 22nd	@ TOR	Kevin Gausman (5-10)	#27	vs SEA	Logan Gilbert (8-6)	#10
Sat, May 23rd	@ TOR	Patrick Corbin (3-4)	#300	vs SEA	George Kirby (8-9)	#21
Sun, May 24th	@ TOR	Dylan Cease (7-5)	#9	vs SEA	Bryan Woo (7-8)	#13
Mon, May 25th	vs CHC	Ben Brown (4-2)	#93	vs NYY	Will Warren (8-5)	#69
Tue, May 26th	vs CHC	Jordan Wicks (0-2)	#226	vs NYY	Cam Schlittler (10-6)	#14
Wed, May 27th	vs CHC	Jameson Taillon (2-6)	#220	vs NYY	Gerrit Cole (4-5)	#25
Thu, May 28th	vs CHC	Colin Rea (8-7)	#176
Fri, May 29th	vs MIN	Taj Bradley (9-4)	#51	@ TEX	MacKenzie Gore (6-9)	#35
Sat, May 30th	vs MIN	Bailey Ober (7-3)	#90	@ TEX	Kumar Rocker (4-8)	#79
Sun, May 31st	vs MIN	Zebby Matthews (4-8)	#131	@ TEX	Jack Leiter (3-7)	#123
Tue, Jun 2nd	@ HOU	Mike Burrows (4-9)	#210	@ CIN	Andrew Abbott (5-7)	#106
Wed, Jun 3rd	@ HOU	Spencer Arrighetti (7-5)	#282	@ CIN	Chase Burns (12-1)	#29
Thu, Jun 4th	@ HOU	Kai-Wei Teng (5-6)	#261	@ MIN	Andrew Morris (4-3)	#157
Fri, Jun 5th	@ ATL	Martin Perez (7-6)	#216	@ MIN	Zebby Matthews (4-8)	#131
Sat, Jun 6th	@ ATL	Spencer Strider (4-2)	#267	@ MIN	Joe Ryan (6-7)	#19
Sun, Jun 7th	@ ATL	Bryce Elder (7-6)	#136	@ MIN	Connor Prielipp (3-5)	#99
Tue, Jun 9th	vs LAD	Eric Lauer (6-5)	#347	vs TEX	Nathan Eovaldi (10-9)	#15
Wed, Jun 10th	vs LAD	Shohei Ohtani (8-2)	#1	vs TEX	MacKenzie Gore (6-9)	#35
Thu, Jun 11th	vs LAD	Justin Wrobleski (11-2)	#80	vs TEX	Kumar Rocker (4-8)	#79
Fri, Jun 12th	vs MIA	Sandy Alcantara (11-6)	#60	vs HOU	Tatsuya Imai (6-4)	#139
Sat, Jun 13th	vs MIA	Lake Bachar (1-2)	#194	vs HOU	Mike Burrows (4-9)	#210
Sun, Jun 14th	vs MIA	Max Meyer (9-1)	#75	vs HOU	Spencer Arrighetti (7-5)	#282
Mon, Jun 15th	@ ATH	J.T. Ginn (8-6)	#160	@ WSH	Andrew Alvarez (2-3)	#197
Tue, Jun 16th	@ ATH	Jack Perkins (2-7)	#98	@ WSH	Foster Griffin (12-3)	#56
Wed, Jun 17th	@ ATH	Aaron Civale (5-7)	#202	@ WSH	Zack Littell (7-8)	#211
Fri, Jun 19th	@ COL	Kyle Freeland (2-10)	#394	vs STL	Michael McGreevy (4-9)	#95
Sat, Jun 20th	@ COL	Tomoyuki Sugano (11-4)	#437
Sun, Jun 21st	@ COL	Michael Lorenzen (3-9)	#436	vs STL	Dustin May (5-7)	#55
Tue, Jun 23rd	vs SEA	George Kirby (8-9)	#21	@ TB	Shane McClanahan (9-6)	#49
Wed, Jun 24th	vs SEA	Bryan Woo (7-8)	#13	@ TB	Griffin Jax (6-8)	#58
Thu, Jun 25th	vs SEA	Bryce Miller (4-5)	#39	@ TB	Casey Legumina (2-2)	#275
Fri, Jun 26th	vs CIN	Andrew Abbott (5-7)	#106	@ CWS	David Sandlin (2-1)	#308
Sat, Jun 27th	vs CIN	Chase Burns (12-1)	#29	@ CWS	Davis Martin (9-5)	#81
Sun, Jun 28th	vs CIN	Brady Singer (5-10)	#151	@ CWS	Anthony Kay (7-5)	#182
Mon, Jun 29th	@ PHI	Aaron Nola (3-9)	#59
Tue, Jun 30th	@ PHI	Cristopher Sanchez (14-4)	#3	vs TB	Griffin Jax (6-8)	#58
Wed, Jul 1st	@ PHI	Zack Wheeler (10-2)	#6	vs TB	Shane McClanahan (9-6)	#49
Thu, Jul 2nd	@ PHI	Alan Rangel (0-3)	#303	vs TB	Ian Seymour (7-3)	#85
Fri, Jul 3rd	@ WSH	Foster Griffin (12-3)	#56
Sat, Jul 4th	@ WSH	Carson Palmquist (0-1)	#306	vs PHI	Jesus Luzardo (9-5)	#11
Sun, Jul 5th	@ WSH	Cade Cavalli (8-4)	#54	vs PHI	Aaron Nola (3-9)	#59
Tue, Jul 7th	vs ATL	Hurston Waldrep (0-1)	#322	@ NYM	Cionel Perez
Wed, Jul 8th	vs ATL	Grant Holmes (6-4)	#144	@ NYM	Christian Scott (3-3)	#50
Thu, Jul 9th	vs ATL	Bryce Elder (7-6)	#136	@ NYM	Sean Manaea (2-5)	#107
Sat, Jul 11th	vs MIL	Shane Drohan (6-4)	#72	@ BAL	Kyle Bradish (7-9)	#45
Sun, Jul 12th	vs MIL	Robert Gasser (3-4)	#115	@ BAL	Shane Baz (4-10)	#70
Sat, Jul 18th	@ CLE	Logan Allen (0-0)	#154	vs SD	Griffin Canning (2-9)	#155
Sun, Jul 19th	@ CLE	Joey Cantillo (8-6)	#88	vs SD	German Marquez (4-2)	#334
Mon, Jul 20th	@ NYY	Ryan Weathers (4-7)	#71	vs SF	Trevor McDonald (3-7)
Wed, Jul 22nd	@ NYY	Max Fried (4-3)	#16	vs SF	Landen Roupp (7-9)	#63
Fri, Jul 24th	vs CHC	Matthew Boyd (6-1)	#37	@ DET	Tarik Skubal (7-5)	#2
Sat, Jul 25th	vs CHC	Shota Imanaga (7-9)	#23	@ DET	Casey Mize (4-6)	#38
Sun, Jul 26th	vs CHC	Jameson Taillon (2-6)	#220	@ DET	Framber Valdez (6-7)	#32
Mon, Jul 27th	vs ARI	Merrill Kelly (8-8)	#124
Tue, Jul 28th	vs ARI	Brandon Pfaadt (5-1)	#77	@ MIN	Taj Bradley (9-4)	#51
Wed, Jul 29th	vs ARI	Eduardo Rodriguez (10-3)	#128	@ MIN	Joe Ryan (6-7)	#19
Thu, Jul 30th	@ CIN	Rhett Lowder (3-7)	#277	@ MIN	Bailey Ober (7-3)	#90
Fri, Jul 31st	@ CIN	Hunter Greene (2-2)	#26	@ COL	Tomoyuki Sugano (11-4)	#437
Sat, Aug 1st	@ CIN	Andrew Abbott (5-7)	#106	@ COL	Ryan Feltner (4-5)	#435
Sun, Aug 2nd	@ CIN	Chase Burns (12-1)	#29	@ COL	Kyle Freeland (2-10)	#394
Mon, Aug 3rd	@ MIL	Brandon Sproat (3-6)	#141
Tue, Aug 4th	@ MIL	Logan Henderson (5-1)	#36	vs MIN	Joe Ryan (6-7)	#19
Wed, Aug 5th	@ MIL	Shane Drohan (6-4)	#72	vs MIN	Bailey Ober (7-3)	#90
Thu, Aug 6th	@ MIL	Robert Gasser (3-4)	#115	vs MIN	Zebby Matthews (4-8)	#131
Fri, Aug 7th	vs NYM	Freddy Peralta (5-9)	#40	vs CHC	Colin Rea (8-7)	#176
Sat, Aug 8th	vs NYM	Zac Thornton (2-2)	#143	vs CHC	Matthew Boyd (6-1)	#37
Sun, Aug 9th	vs NYM	Christian Scott (3-3)	#50	vs CHC	Javier Assad (6-1)	#161
Tue, Aug 11th	@ MIA	Eury Perez (5-8)	#41	@ LAD
Wed, Aug 12th	@ MIA			@ LAD
Thu, Aug 13th	@ MIA
Fri, Aug 14th	vs BOS			@ LAA
Sat, Aug 15th	vs BOS			@ LAA
Sun, Aug 16th	vs BOS			@ LAA
Mon, Aug 17th	vs DET			vs ATH
Tue, Aug 18th	vs DET			vs ATH
Wed, Aug 19th	vs DET			vs ATH
Fri, Aug 21st	@ LAD			vs DET
Sat, Aug 22nd	@ LAD			vs DET
Sun, Aug 23rd	@ LAD			vs DET
Mon, Aug 24th	@ SD
Tue, Aug 25th	@ SD			@ TOR
Wed, Aug 26th	@ SD			@ TOR
Fri, Aug 28th	@ STL			@ CLE
Sat, Aug 29th	@ STL			@ CLE
Sun, Aug 30th	@ STL			@ CLE
Tue, Sep 1st	vs SF			vs MIA
Wed, Sep 2nd	vs SF			vs MIA
Thu, Sep 3rd	vs SF			vs MIA
Fri, Sep 4th	vs LAA			vs TOR
Sat, Sep 5th	vs LAA			vs TOR
Sun, Sep 6th	vs LAA			vs TOR
Tue, Sep 8th	@ CWS			vs ARI
Wed, Sep 9th	@ CWS			vs ARI
Thu, Sep 10th	@ CWS
Fri, Sep 11th	@ CHC			@ BOS
Sat, Sep 12th	@ CHC			@ BOS
Sun, Sep 13th	@ CHC			@ BOS
Tue, Sep 15th	vs MIL			@ HOU
Wed, Sep 16th	vs MIL			@ HOU
Thu, Sep 17th	vs MIL			@ HOU
Fri, Sep 18th	vs KC			@ PIT
Sat, Sep 19th	vs KC			@ PIT
Sun, Sep 20th	vs KC			@ PIT
Tue, Sep 22nd	vs STL			vs CWS
Wed, Sep 23rd	vs STL			vs CWS
Thu, Sep 24th	vs STL			vs CWS
Fri, Sep 25th	@ DET			vs CLE
Sat, Sep 26th	@ DET			vs CLE
Sun, Sep 27th	@ DET			vs CLE
Fri, Mar 27th				@ ATL	Chris Sale (12-6)	#8
Thu, Apr 2nd				vs MIN	Taj Bradley (9-4)	#51
Thu, Apr 9th				vs CWS	Anthony Kay (7-5)	#182
Mon, Apr 20th				vs BAL	Kyle Bradish (7-9)	#45
Mon, May 4th				vs CLE	Tanner Bibee (4-11)	#53
Mon, May 18th				vs BOS	Sonny Gray (13-2)	#28
Mon, Jun 1st				@ CIN	Lyon Richardson
Thu, Jun 18th				vs STL	Matthew Liberatore (5-8)	#118
Mon, Jun 22nd				@ TB	Drew Rasmussen (10-5)	#20
Mon, Jul 6th				vs PHI	Cristopher Sanchez (14-4)	#3
Fri, Jul 10th				@ BAL	Brandon Young (8-2)	#140
Fri, Jul 17th				vs SD	Michael King (6-7)	#57
Tue, Jul 21st				vs SF	Tyler Mahle (3-9)	#78
Thu, Jul 23rd				@ DET	Troy Melton (6-1)	#86
Mon, Aug 10th				@ LAD
Thu, Aug 20th				vs ATH
Thu, Aug 27th				@ TOR
Mon, Sep 7th				vs ARI

Who Should I Trade?

Esmerlyn Valdez for John Rave (2026)

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