Who Should I Trade?

Esmerlyn Valdez for Justin Dean (2026)

Summary
Stats
Projections
News & Notes
Schedule

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

Rest of Season	# 166	‐
VBR	# 179	# 1340

Projections

Runs	19	1
Home Runs	7	0
RBI	21	1
Stolen Bases	1	0
Batting Average	.237	.187

Misc

Injury Alert	-	MiLB

Expert Ranks

Scott Pianowski Yahoo! Sports	# 117	‐

Chris Welsh FantasyPros	# 97	‐

Kelly Kirby FantasyPros	# 161	‐

Kevin Spinelli KevScores	# 128	‐

Who Should I Trade? Player Statistics
	Esmerlyn Valdez 1B,LF,RF - PIT	Justin Dean CF,RF - CHC
2026 Stats


At Bats	146	8

Runs	28	3

Hits	38	3

Singles	14	2

Doubles	9	0

Triples	1	1

Home Runs	14	0

RBI	38	3

Stolen Bases	0	1

Caught Stealing	1	0

Walks	27	2

Strikeouts	61	4

Batting Average	.260	.375

On Base Pct	.375	.500

Slugging Pct	.623	.625

On-base Plus Slugging	.998	1.125

Who Should I Trade? Player Projections
	Esmerlyn Valdez 1B,LF,RF - PIT	Justin Dean CF,RF - CHC
2026 Projections


At Bats	140	9

Runs	19	1

Hits	33	2

Singles	19	1

Doubles	7	0

Triples	0	0

Home Runs	7	0

RBI	21	1

Stolen Bases	1	0

Caught Stealing	0	0

Walks	16	1

Strikeouts	46	3

Batting Average	.237	.187

On Base Pct	.321	.273

Slugging Pct	.438	.264

On-base Plus Slugging	.759	.537

Who Should I Trade? Player Notes
	Esmerlyn Valdez 1B,LF,RF - PIT	Justin Dean CF,RF - CHC
News
	Esmerlyn Valdez is expected to be in the lineup in Tuesday's game against the Diamondbacks. Ari Koslow Tue, Jul 28th	The Cubs optioned Justin Dean to Triple-A Iowa. Ari Koslow Mon, Aug 3rd
	The Pirates didn’t provide an update on Esmerlyn Valdez following Monday’s game against the Diamondbacks. Ari Koslow Tue, Jul 28th	Justin Dean went 1-for-2 with a bases-clearing triple on Friday, helping the Cubs to a 16-2 win over the Blue Jays. David Leisering Sat, Jun 20th
	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 Cubs recalled OF Justin Dean from Triple-A Iowa. Ari Koslow Fri, Jun 19th
	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	The Cubs optioned OF Justin Dean to Triple-A Iowa. Ari Koslow Thu, Mar 12th
	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	The Cubs claimed OF Justin Dean off waivers from the Giants. Ari Koslow Wed, Jan 14th
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			Justin Dean CF,RF - CHC
Thu, Mar 26th	@ NYM	Freddy Peralta (5-9)	#50	vs WSH	Cade Cavalli (8-5)	#54
Sat, Mar 28th	@ NYM	David Peterson (6-7)	#88	vs WSH	Miles Mikolas (3-8)	#277
Sun, Mar 29th	@ NYM	Nolan McLean (7-7)	#34	vs WSH	Jake Irvin (2-5)	#164
Mon, Mar 30th	@ CIN	Chase Burns (13-1)	#26	vs LAA	Ryan Johnson (2-6)	#236
Tue, Mar 31st	@ CIN	Brandon Williamson (2-3)	#327	vs LAA	Jose Soriano (9-6)	#46
Wed, Apr 1st	@ CIN	Andrew Abbott (5-7)	#109	vs LAA	Yusei Kikuchi (0-3)	#125
Fri, Apr 3rd	vs BAL	Kyle Bradish (7-10)	#43	@ CLE	Joey Cantillo (8-6)	#85
Sat, Apr 4th	vs BAL	Shane Baz (4-10)	#63
Sun, Apr 5th	vs BAL	Chris Bassitt (4-4)	#135	@ CLE	Parker Messick (8-6)	#42
Mon, Apr 6th	vs SD	German Marquez (4-2)	#381	@ TB	Shane McClanahan (9-6)	#68
Tue, Apr 7th	vs SD	Nick Pivetta (1-2)	#74	@ TB	Mason Englert (0-3)	#219
Wed, Apr 8th	vs SD	Michael King (6-8)	#57	@ TB	Joe Boyle (0-1)	#252
Fri, Apr 10th	@ CHC	Shota Imanaga (7-9)	#28	vs PIT	Carmen Mlodzinski (6-3)	#113
Sat, Apr 11th	@ CHC	Edward Cabrera (5-4)	#80	vs PIT	Braxton Ashcraft (11-4)	#31
Sun, Apr 12th	@ CHC	Jameson Taillon (2-6)	#145	vs PIT	Bubba Chandler (4-8)	#102
Mon, Apr 13th	vs WSH	Cade Cavalli (8-5)	#54	@ PHI	Cristopher Sanchez (14-4)	#4
Tue, Apr 14th	vs WSH	PJ Poulin (3-0)	#350	@ PHI	Aaron Nola (3-9)	#55
Wed, Apr 15th	vs WSH	Jake Irvin (2-5)	#164	@ PHI	Jesus Luzardo (9-5)	#10
Thu, Apr 16th	vs WSH	Foster Griffin (12-3)	#53
Fri, Apr 17th	vs TB	Nick Martinez (10-3)	#99	vs NYM	Kodai Senga (0-8)	#133
Sat, Apr 18th	vs TB	Drew Rasmussen (10-5)	#17	vs NYM	Freddy Peralta (5-9)	#50
Sun, Apr 19th	vs TB	Shane McClanahan (9-6)	#68	vs NYM	Tobias Myers (0-2)	#206
Tue, Apr 21st	@ TEX	Kumar Rocker (4-8)	#81	vs PHI	Jesus Luzardo (9-5)	#10
Wed, Apr 22nd	@ TEX	Jack Leiter (3-7)	#126	vs PHI	Kyle Backhus
Thu, Apr 23rd	@ TEX	Jacob deGrom (7-7)	#11	vs PHI	Cristopher Sanchez (14-4)	#4
Fri, Apr 24th	@ MIL	Brandon Woodruff (2-2)		@ LAD	Emmet Sheehan (4-8)	#77
Sat, Apr 25th	@ MIL	Jacob Misiorowski (11-5)	#5	@ LAD	Roki Sasaki (5-5)	#96
Sun, Apr 26th	@ MIL	Kyle Harrison (8-2)	#44	@ LAD	Justin Wrobleski (11-3)	#92
Mon, Apr 27th	vs STL	Dustin May (5-7)	#56	@ SD	Randy Vasquez (6-6)	#321
Tue, Apr 28th	vs STL	Kyle Leahy (7-4)	#123	@ SD	Walker Buehler (6-5)	#243
Wed, Apr 29th	vs STL	Andre Pallante (11-6)	#111	@ SD	Matt Waldron (1-2)	#347
Thu, Apr 30th	vs STL	Hunter Dobbins (2-1)	#166
Fri, May 1st	vs CIN	Brady Singer (5-10)	#152	vs ARI	Zac Gallen (3-9)	#232
Sat, May 2nd	vs CIN	Rhett Lowder (3-7)	#280	vs ARI	Ryne Nelson (3-5)	#198
Sun, May 3rd	vs CIN	Chase Burns (13-1)	#26	vs ARI	Merrill Kelly (8-9)	#130
Tue, May 5th	@ ARI	Eduardo Rodriguez (10-3)	#127	vs CIN	Andrew Abbott (5-7)	#109
Wed, May 6th	@ ARI	Michael Soroka (8-3)	#69	vs CIN	Brady Singer (5-10)	#152
Thu, May 7th	@ ARI	Zac Gallen (3-9)	#232	vs CIN	Rhett Lowder (3-7)	#280
Fri, May 8th	@ SF	Robbie Ray (10-6)	#97	@ TEX	Kumar Rocker (4-8)	#81
Sat, May 9th	@ SF	Landen Roupp (7-10)	#62	@ TEX	Jack Leiter (3-7)	#126
Sun, May 10th	@ SF	Tyler Mahle (3-9)	#100	@ TEX	Jacob deGrom (7-7)	#11
Tue, May 12th	vs COL	Michael Lorenzen (3-10)	#432	@ ATL	Grant Holmes (6-4)	#180
Wed, May 13th	vs COL	Jose Quintana (2-3)	#428	@ ATL	JR Ritchie (1-2)	#288
Thu, May 14th	vs COL	Chase Dollander (3-3)		@ ATL	Chris Sale (12-6)	#7
Fri, May 15th	vs PHI	Aaron Nola (3-9)	#55	@ CWS	Sean Burke (7-5)	#66
Sat, May 16th	vs PHI	Cristopher Sanchez (14-4)	#4	@ CWS	Davis Martin (9-5)	#82
Sun, May 17th	vs PHI	Zack Wheeler (10-2)	#6	@ CWS	Erick Fedde (6-6)	#393
Tue, May 19th	@ STL	Matthew Liberatore (5-8)	#118	vs MIL	Jacob Misiorowski (11-5)	#5
Wed, May 20th	@ STL	Michael McGreevy (4-9)	#98	vs MIL	Kyle Harrison (8-2)	#44
Thu, May 21st	@ STL	Dustin May (5-7)	#56
Fri, May 22nd	@ TOR	Kevin Gausman (5-10)	#25	vs HOU	Spencer Arrighetti (7-5)	#278
Sat, May 23rd	@ TOR	Patrick Corbin (3-4)	#295	vs HOU	Kai-Wei Teng (5-6)	#260
Sun, May 24th	@ TOR	Dylan Cease (7-5)	#8	vs HOU	Peter Lambert (8-5)	#116
Mon, May 25th	vs CHC	Ben Brown (4-2)	#140	@ PIT	Carmen Mlodzinski (6-3)	#113
Tue, May 26th	vs CHC	Jordan Wicks (0-2)	#329	@ PIT	Braxton Ashcraft (11-4)	#31
Wed, May 27th	vs CHC	Jameson Taillon (2-6)	#145	@ PIT	Bubba Chandler (4-8)	#102
Thu, May 28th	vs CHC	Colin Rea (8-8)	#169	@ PIT	Paul Skenes (9-9)	#3
Fri, May 29th	vs MIN	Taj Bradley (9-4)	#49	@ STL	Andre Pallante (11-6)	#111
Sat, May 30th	vs MIN	Bailey Ober (7-3)	#84	@ STL	Kyle Leahy (7-4)	#123
Sun, May 31st	vs MIN	Zebby Matthews (4-8)	#131	@ STL	Matthew Liberatore (5-8)	#118
Tue, Jun 2nd	@ HOU	Mike Burrows (4-9)	#221	vs ATH	Gage Jump (4-7)	#83
Wed, Jun 3rd	@ HOU	Spencer Arrighetti (7-5)	#278	vs ATH	Jeffrey Springs (3-11)	#241
Thu, Jun 4th	@ HOU	Kai-Wei Teng (5-6)	#260	vs ATH	J.T. Ginn (8-6)	#160
Fri, Jun 5th	@ ATL	Martin Perez (7-6)	#204	vs SF	Robbie Ray (10-6)	#97
Sat, Jun 6th	@ ATL	Spencer Strider (4-2)	#317	vs SF	Landen Roupp (7-10)	#62
Sun, Jun 7th	@ ATL	Bryce Elder (7-6)	#139	vs SF	Trevor McDonald (3-7)
Tue, Jun 9th	vs LAD	Eric Lauer (6-5)	#312	@ COL	Tomoyuki Sugano (11-4)	#434
Wed, Jun 10th	vs LAD	Shohei Ohtani (8-2)	#1	@ COL	Michael Lorenzen (3-10)	#432
Thu, Jun 11th	vs LAD	Justin Wrobleski (11-3)	#92	@ COL	Ryan Feltner (4-5)	#431
Fri, Jun 12th	vs MIA	Sandy Alcantara (12-6)	#58	@ SF	Landen Roupp (7-10)	#62
Sat, Jun 13th	vs MIA	Lake Bachar (1-2)	#216	@ SF	Trevor McDonald (3-7)
Sun, Jun 14th	vs MIA	Max Meyer (9-1)	#86	@ SF	Logan Webb (7-7)	#16
Mon, Jun 15th	@ ATH	J.T. Ginn (8-6)	#160	vs COL	Michael Lorenzen (3-10)	#432
Tue, Jun 16th	@ ATH	Jack Perkins (2-7)	#94	vs COL	Ryan Feltner (4-5)	#431
Wed, Jun 17th	@ ATH	Aaron Civale (5-7)	#186	vs COL	Sean Sullivan (0-3)	#424
Fri, Jun 19th	@ COL	Kyle Freeland (3-10)	#320	vs TOR	Kevin Gausman (5-10)	#25
Sat, Jun 20th	@ COL	Tomoyuki Sugano (11-4)	#434	vs TOR	Patrick Corbin (3-4)	#295
Sun, Jun 21st	@ COL	Michael Lorenzen (3-10)	#432
Tue, Jun 23rd	vs SEA	George Kirby (8-9)	#19	@ NYM	Kodai Senga (0-8)	#133
Wed, Jun 24th	vs SEA	Bryan Woo (7-8)	#12	@ NYM	Sean Manaea (2-5)	#75
Thu, Jun 25th	vs SEA	Bryce Miller (4-5)	#33	@ NYM	Freddy Peralta (5-9)	#50
Fri, Jun 26th	vs CIN	Andrew Abbott (5-7)	#109	@ MIL	Jacob Misiorowski (11-5)	#5
Sat, Jun 27th	vs CIN	Chase Burns (13-1)	#26	@ MIL	Kyle Harrison (8-2)	#44
Sun, Jun 28th	vs CIN	Brady Singer (5-10)	#152	@ MIL	Brandon Woodruff (2-2)
Mon, Jun 29th	@ PHI	Aaron Nola (3-9)	#55	vs SD	Griffin Canning (3-9)	#167
Tue, Jun 30th	@ PHI	Cristopher Sanchez (14-4)	#4	vs SD	JP Sears (3-4)	#170
Wed, Jul 1st	@ PHI	Zack Wheeler (10-2)	#6	vs SD	Walker Buehler (6-5)	#243
Thu, Jul 2nd	@ PHI	Alan Rangel (0-3)	#265
Fri, Jul 3rd	@ WSH	Foster Griffin (12-3)	#53	vs STL	Andre Pallante (11-6)	#111
Sat, Jul 4th	@ WSH	Carson Palmquist (0-1)	#274	vs STL	Kyle Leahy (7-4)	#123
Sun, Jul 5th	@ WSH	Cade Cavalli (8-5)	#54	vs STL	Matthew Liberatore (5-8)	#118
Tue, Jul 7th	vs ATL	Hurston Waldrep (0-1)	#401	@ BAL	Shane Baz (4-10)	#63
Wed, Jul 8th	vs ATL	Grant Holmes (6-4)	#180	@ BAL	Dean Kremer (1-4)	#114
Thu, Jul 9th	vs ATL	Bryce Elder (7-6)	#139	@ BAL	Trevor Rogers (6-7)	#70
Sat, Jul 11th	vs MIL	Shane Drohan (6-4)	#71	@ CIN	Nick Lodolo (3-2)	#115
Sun, Jul 12th	vs MIL	Robert Gasser (3-4)	#110	@ CIN	Andrew Abbott (5-7)	#109
Sat, Jul 18th	@ CLE	Logan Allen (0-0)	#183	vs MIN	Taj Bradley (9-4)	#49
Sun, Jul 19th	@ CLE	Joey Cantillo (8-6)	#85	vs MIN	Zebby Matthews (4-8)	#131
Mon, Jul 20th	@ NYY	Ryan Weathers (4-7)	#64	vs DET	Jack Flaherty (3-8)	#95
Wed, Jul 22nd	@ NYY	Max Fried (4-3)	#14	vs DET	Keider Montero (8-6)	#103
Fri, Jul 24th	vs CHC	Matthew Boyd (7-1)	#38	@ PIT	Jared Jones (2-2)	#52
Sat, Jul 25th	vs CHC	Shota Imanaga (7-9)	#28	@ PIT	Paul Skenes (9-9)	#3
Sun, Jul 26th	vs CHC	Jameson Taillon (2-6)	#145	@ PIT	Braxton Ashcraft (11-4)	#31
Mon, Jul 27th	vs ARI	Merrill Kelly (8-9)	#130	@ STL	Matthew Liberatore (5-8)	#118
Tue, Jul 28th	vs ARI	Brandon Pfaadt (6-1)	#90	@ STL	Michael McGreevy (4-9)	#98
Wed, Jul 29th	vs ARI	Eduardo Rodriguez (10-3)	#127	@ STL	Dustin May (5-7)	#56
Thu, Jul 30th	@ CIN	Rhett Lowder (3-7)	#280	@ STL	Andre Pallante (11-6)	#111
Fri, Jul 31st	@ CIN	Hunter Greene (2-2)	#29	vs NYY	Will Warren (8-5)	#65
Sat, Aug 1st	@ CIN	Andrew Abbott (5-7)	#109	vs NYY	Max Fried (4-3)	#14
Sun, Aug 2nd	@ CIN	Chase Burns (13-1)	#26	vs NYY	Gerrit Cole (5-5)	#23
Mon, Aug 3rd	@ MIL	Brandon Sproat (3-7)	#151	vs LAD	Justin Wrobleski (11-3)	#92
Tue, Aug 4th	@ MIL	Logan Henderson (5-1)	#39	vs LAD	Tarik Skubal (7-5)	#2
Wed, Aug 5th	@ MIL	Dustin May (5-7)	#56	vs LAD	Eric Lauer (6-5)	#312
Thu, Aug 6th	@ MIL	Shane Drohan (6-4)	#71	vs TOR	Kevin Gausman (5-10)	#25
Fri, Aug 7th	vs NYM			@ KC	Luinder Avila (5-4)	#305
Sat, Aug 8th	vs NYM	Sean Manaea (2-5)	#75	@ KC	Seth Lugo (4-7)	#122
Sun, Aug 9th	vs NYM	Christian Scott (3-3)	#45	@ KC	Randy Dobnak (1-0)	#433
Tue, Aug 11th	@ MIA	Eury Perez (5-8)	#41	@ WSH	Foster Griffin (12-3)	#53
Wed, Aug 12th	@ MIA	Janson Junk (5-6)	#119	@ WSH	Foster Griffin (12-3)	#53
Thu, Aug 13th	@ MIA	Tyler Phillips (3-5)	#263	@ WSH	Cade Cavalli (8-5)	#54
Fri, Aug 14th	vs BOS			vs STL
Sat, Aug 15th	vs BOS			vs STL
Sun, Aug 16th	vs BOS			vs STL
Mon, Aug 17th	vs DET			vs CWS
Tue, Aug 18th	vs DET			vs CWS
Wed, Aug 19th	vs DET			vs CWS
Fri, Aug 21st	@ LAD			@ SEA
Sat, Aug 22nd	@ LAD			@ SEA
Sun, Aug 23rd	@ LAD			@ SEA
Mon, Aug 24th	@ SD			@ ARI
Tue, Aug 25th	@ SD			@ ARI
Wed, Aug 26th	@ SD			@ ARI
Fri, Aug 28th	@ STL			vs CIN
Sat, Aug 29th	@ STL			vs CIN
Sun, Aug 30th	@ STL			vs CIN
Tue, Sep 1st	vs SF			vs MIL
Wed, Sep 2nd	vs SF			vs MIL
Thu, Sep 3rd	vs SF			vs MIL
Fri, Sep 4th	vs LAA			@ MIA
Sat, Sep 5th	vs LAA			@ MIA
Sun, Sep 6th	vs LAA			@ MIA
Tue, Sep 8th	@ CWS			@ MIL
Wed, Sep 9th	@ CWS			@ MIL
Thu, Sep 10th	@ CWS
Fri, Sep 11th	@ CHC			vs PIT
Sat, Sep 12th	@ CHC			vs PIT
Sun, Sep 13th	@ CHC			vs PIT
Tue, Sep 15th	vs MIL			vs ATL
Wed, Sep 16th	vs MIL			vs ATL
Thu, Sep 17th	vs MIL
Fri, Sep 18th	vs KC			@ CIN
Sat, Sep 19th	vs KC			@ CIN
Sun, Sep 20th	vs KC			@ CIN
Tue, Sep 22nd	vs STL			vs MIA
Wed, Sep 23rd	vs STL			vs MIA
Thu, Sep 24th	vs STL			vs MIA
Fri, Sep 25th	@ DET			@ BOS
Sat, Sep 26th	@ DET			@ BOS
Sun, Sep 27th	@ DET			@ BOS
Mon, Apr 20th				vs PHI	Aaron Nola (3-9)	#55
Mon, May 4th				vs CIN	Chase Petty (1-2)	#368
Mon, May 18th				vs MIL	Brandon Sproat (3-7)	#151
Fri, Jul 10th				@ CIN	Hunter Greene (2-2)	#29
Fri, Jul 17th				vs MIN	Bailey Ober (7-3)	#84
Tue, Jul 21st				vs DET	Framber Valdez (6-7)	#32
Mon, Aug 31st				vs MIL
Mon, Sep 7th				@ MIL
Mon, Sep 14th				vs ATL

Who Should I Trade?

Esmerlyn Valdez for Justin Dean (2026)

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