Who Should I Trade?

Esmerlyn Valdez for Kahlil Watson (2026)

Summary
Stats
Projections
News & Notes
Schedule

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

Rest of Season	# 167	‐
VBR	# 197	# 1232

Projections

Runs	19	3
Home Runs	7	1
RBI	21	3
Stolen Bases	1	1
Batting Average	.237	.220

Misc

Injury Alert	-	MiLB

Expert Ranks

Scott Pianowski Yahoo! Sports	# 118	‐

Chris Welsh FantasyPros	# 99	‐

Kelly Kirby FantasyPros	# 188	‐

Kevin Spinelli KevScores	# 128	# 349

Who Should I Trade? Player Statistics
	Esmerlyn Valdez 1B,LF,RF - PIT	Kahlil Watson LF,CF,RF - CLE
2026 Stats


At Bats	142	88

Runs	27	6

Hits	38	21

Singles	14	14

Doubles	9	6

Triples	1	0

Home Runs	14	1

RBI	38	11

Stolen Bases	0	9

Caught Stealing	1	1

Walks	23	3

Strikeouts	57	32

Batting Average	.268	.239

On Base Pct	.369	.264

Slugging Pct	.641	.341

On-base Plus Slugging	1.010	.605

Who Should I Trade? Player Projections
	Esmerlyn Valdez 1B,LF,RF - PIT	Kahlil Watson LF,CF,RF - CLE
2026 Projections


At Bats	135	20

Runs	19	3

Hits	32	4

Singles	19	3

Doubles	6	1

Triples	0	0

Home Runs	7	1

RBI	21	3

Stolen Bases	1	1

Caught Stealing	0	0

Walks	15	2

Strikeouts	44	7

Batting Average	.237	.220

On Base Pct	.319	.288

Slugging Pct	.437	.384

On-base Plus Slugging	.756	.672

Who Should I Trade? Player Notes
	Esmerlyn Valdez 1B,LF,RF - PIT	Kahlil Watson LF,CF,RF - CLE
News
	Esmerlyn Valdez is expected to be in the lineup in Tuesday's game against the Diamondbacks. Ari Koslow Tue, Jul 28th	Kahlil Watson was optioned to Triple-A Columbus on Wednesday. Diego Sandoval Wed, Jul 22nd
	The Pirates didn’t provide an update on Esmerlyn Valdez following Monday’s game against the Diamondbacks. Ari Koslow Tue, Jul 28th	Kahlil Watson went 2-for-5 in Sunday's 5-2 win over the Marlins with an RBI, a stolen base, and a strikeout. Matthew Adam Mon, Jul 13th
	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	Kahlil Watson went 0-for-3 in a 6-5 loss to the Twins on Wednesday with a walk, a run scored, and a stolen base. Matthew Adam Thu, Jul 9th
	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	Kahlil Watson went 1-for-5 in a 7-6 loss to the White Sox on Sunday with two stolen bases and one strikeout. Matthew Adam Mon, Jul 6th
	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	Kahlil Watson went 0-for-4 in a 3-1 loss to the White Sox on Saturday with two stolen bases and three strikeouts. Matthew Adam Sun, Jul 5th
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			Kahlil Watson LF,CF,RF - CLE
Thu, Mar 26th	@ NYM	Freddy Peralta (5-9)	#40	@ SEA	Logan Gilbert (8-6)	#10
Sat, Mar 28th	@ NYM	David Peterson (6-7)	#89	@ SEA	Bryan Woo (7-8)	#13
Sun, Mar 29th	@ NYM	Nolan McLean (7-7)	#34	@ SEA	Emerson Hancock (6-5)	#105
Mon, Mar 30th	@ CIN	Chase Burns (12-1)	#29	@ LAD	Roki Sasaki (5-5)	#92
Tue, Mar 31st	@ CIN	Brandon Williamson (2-3)	#350	@ LAD	Shohei Ohtani (8-2)	#1
Wed, Apr 1st	@ CIN	Andrew Abbott (5-7)	#106	@ LAD	Yoshinobu Yamamoto (11-7)	#12
Fri, Apr 3rd	vs BAL	Kyle Bradish (7-9)	#45	vs CHC	Cade Horton (1-0)
Sat, Apr 4th	vs BAL	Shane Baz (4-10)	#70
Sun, Apr 5th	vs BAL	Chris Bassitt (4-4)	#134	vs CHC	Shota Imanaga (7-9)	#23
Mon, Apr 6th	vs SD	German Marquez (4-2)	#334	vs KC	Michael Wacha (5-8)	#73
Tue, Apr 7th	vs SD	Nick Pivetta (1-2)	#101	vs KC	Noah Cameron (5-8)	#84
Wed, Apr 8th	vs SD	Michael King (6-7)	#57	vs KC	Cole Ragans (1-4)
Fri, Apr 10th	@ CHC	Shota Imanaga (7-9)	#23	@ ATL	Bryce Elder (7-6)	#136
Sat, Apr 11th	@ CHC	Edward Cabrera (5-4)	#76	@ ATL	Martin Perez (7-6)	#216
Sun, Apr 12th	@ CHC	Jameson Taillon (2-6)	#220	@ ATL	Chris Sale (12-6)	#8
Mon, Apr 13th	vs WSH	Cade Cavalli (8-4)	#54	@ STL	Matthew Liberatore (5-8)	#118
Tue, Apr 14th	vs WSH	PJ Poulin (3-0)	#290	@ STL	Michael McGreevy (4-9)	#95
Wed, Apr 15th	vs WSH	Jake Irvin (2-5)	#169	@ STL	Dustin May (5-7)	#55
Thu, Apr 16th	vs WSH	Foster Griffin (12-3)	#56	vs BAL	Shane Baz (4-10)	#70
Fri, Apr 17th	vs TB	Nick Martinez (10-3)	#97	vs BAL	Chris Bassitt (4-4)	#134
Sat, Apr 18th	vs TB	Drew Rasmussen (10-5)	#20	vs BAL	Dean Kremer (1-4)	#116
Sun, Apr 19th	vs TB	Shane McClanahan (9-6)	#49	vs BAL	Trevor Rogers (6-7)	#66
Tue, Apr 21st	@ TEX	Kumar Rocker (4-8)	#79	vs HOU	Ryan Weiss (0-3)	#405
Wed, Apr 22nd	@ TEX	Jack Leiter (3-7)	#123	vs HOU	Peter Lambert (8-5)	#153
Thu, Apr 23rd	@ TEX	Jacob deGrom (7-7)	#7
Fri, Apr 24th	@ MIL	Brandon Woodruff (2-2)		@ TOR	Max Scherzer (1-4)	#149
Sat, Apr 25th	@ MIL	Jacob Misiorowski (11-4)	#5	@ TOR	Kevin Gausman (5-10)	#27
Sun, Apr 26th	@ MIL	Kyle Harrison (8-2)	#43	@ TOR	Patrick Corbin (3-4)	#300
Mon, Apr 27th	vs STL	Dustin May (5-7)	#55	vs TB	Steven Matz (4-4)	#186
Tue, Apr 28th	vs STL	Kyle Leahy (7-4)	#125	vs TB	Nick Martinez (10-3)	#97
Wed, Apr 29th	vs STL	Andre Pallante (11-6)	#109	vs TB	Drew Rasmussen (10-5)	#20
Thu, Apr 30th	vs STL	Hunter Dobbins (2-1)	#162
Fri, May 1st	vs CIN	Brady Singer (5-10)	#151	@ ATH	J.T. Ginn (8-6)	#160
Sat, May 2nd	vs CIN	Rhett Lowder (3-7)	#277	@ ATH	Jacob Lopez (5-4)	#185
Sun, May 3rd	vs CIN	Chase Burns (12-1)	#29	@ ATH	Aaron Civale (5-7)	#202
Tue, May 5th	@ ARI	Eduardo Rodriguez (10-3)	#128	@ KC	Stephen Kolek (4-3)	#357
Wed, May 6th	@ ARI	Michael Soroka (8-3)	#67	@ KC	Cole Ragans (1-4)
Thu, May 7th	@ ARI	Zac Gallen (3-9)	#172	@ KC	Seth Lugo (4-6)	#129
Fri, May 8th	@ SF	Robbie Ray (10-6)	#96	vs MIN	Connor Prielipp (3-5)	#99
Sat, May 9th	@ SF	Landen Roupp (7-9)	#63	vs MIN	Joe Ryan (6-7)	#19
Sun, May 10th	@ SF	Tyler Mahle (3-9)	#78	vs MIN	Andrew Morris (4-3)	#157
Tue, May 12th	vs COL	Michael Lorenzen (3-9)	#436	vs LAA	Walbert Urena (6-7)	#294
Wed, May 13th	vs COL	Jose Quintana (2-3)	#433	vs LAA	Reid Detmers (3-7)	#33
Thu, May 14th	vs COL	Chase Dollander (3-3)
Fri, May 15th	vs PHI	Aaron Nola (3-9)	#59	vs CIN	Andrew Abbott (5-7)	#106
Sat, May 16th	vs PHI	Cristopher Sanchez (14-4)	#3	vs CIN	Chris Paddack (0-7)
Sun, May 17th	vs PHI	Zack Wheeler (10-2)	#6	vs CIN	Brady Singer (5-10)	#151
Tue, May 19th	@ STL	Matthew Liberatore (5-8)	#118	@ DET	Keider Montero (7-6)	#145
Wed, May 20th	@ STL	Michael McGreevy (4-9)	#95	@ DET	Drew Anderson	#137
Thu, May 21st	@ STL	Dustin May (5-7)	#55	@ DET	Casey Mize (4-6)	#38
Fri, May 22nd	@ TOR	Kevin Gausman (5-10)	#27	@ PHI	Cristopher Sanchez (14-4)	#3
Sat, May 23rd	@ TOR	Patrick Corbin (3-4)	#300	@ PHI	Zack Wheeler (10-2)	#6
Sun, May 24th	@ TOR	Dylan Cease (7-5)	#9	@ PHI	Andrew Painter (1-8)	#206
Mon, May 25th	vs CHC	Ben Brown (4-2)	#93	vs WSH	PJ Poulin (3-0)	#290
Tue, May 26th	vs CHC	Jordan Wicks (0-2)	#226	vs WSH	Cade Cavalli (8-4)	#54
Wed, May 27th	vs CHC	Jameson Taillon (2-6)	#220	vs WSH	PJ Poulin (3-0)	#290
Thu, May 28th	vs CHC	Colin Rea (8-7)	#176
Fri, May 29th	vs MIN	Taj Bradley (9-4)	#51	vs BOS	Tyler Samaniego
Sat, May 30th	vs MIN	Bailey Ober (7-3)	#90	vs BOS	Sonny Gray (13-2)	#28
Sun, May 31st	vs MIN	Zebby Matthews (4-8)	#131	vs BOS	Ranger Suarez (4-3)	#22
Tue, Jun 2nd	@ HOU	Mike Burrows (4-9)	#210	@ NYY	Cam Schlittler (10-6)	#14
Wed, Jun 3rd	@ HOU	Spencer Arrighetti (7-5)	#282	@ NYY	Gerrit Cole (4-5)	#25
Thu, Jun 4th	@ HOU	Kai-Wei Teng (5-6)	#261	@ NYY	Carlos Rodon (4-2)	#104
Fri, Jun 5th	@ ATL	Martin Perez (7-6)	#216	@ TEX	Kumar Rocker (4-8)	#79
Sat, Jun 6th	@ ATL	Spencer Strider (4-2)	#267	@ TEX	Jack Leiter (3-7)	#123
Sun, Jun 7th	@ ATL	Bryce Elder (7-6)	#136	@ TEX	Jacob deGrom (7-7)	#7
Tue, Jun 9th	vs LAD	Eric Lauer (6-5)	#347	vs NYY	Gerrit Cole (4-5)	#25
Wed, Jun 10th	vs LAD	Shohei Ohtani (8-2)	#1	vs NYY	Carlos Rodon (4-2)	#104
Thu, Jun 11th	vs LAD	Justin Wrobleski (11-2)	#80
Fri, Jun 12th	vs MIA	Sandy Alcantara (11-6)	#60	vs DET	Jack Flaherty (3-8)	#94
Sat, Jun 13th	vs MIA	Lake Bachar (1-2)	#194	vs DET	Tarik Skubal (7-5)	#2
Sun, Jun 14th	vs MIA	Max Meyer (9-1)	#75
Mon, Jun 15th	@ ATH	J.T. Ginn (8-6)	#160
Tue, Jun 16th	@ ATH	Jack Perkins (2-7)	#98	@ MIL	Robert Gasser (3-4)	#115
Wed, Jun 17th	@ ATH	Aaron Civale (5-7)	#202	@ MIL	Brandon Sproat (3-6)	#141
Fri, Jun 19th	@ COL	Kyle Freeland (2-10)	#394	@ HOU	Tatsuya Imai (6-4)	#139
Sat, Jun 20th	@ COL	Tomoyuki Sugano (11-4)	#437	@ HOU	Spencer Arrighetti (7-5)	#282
Sun, Jun 21st	@ COL	Michael Lorenzen (3-9)	#436	@ HOU	Kai-Wei Teng (5-6)	#261
Tue, Jun 23rd	vs SEA	George Kirby (8-9)	#21	@ CWS	Sean Burke (7-5)	#64
Wed, Jun 24th	vs SEA	Bryan Woo (7-8)	#13	@ CWS	Chris Murphy
Thu, Jun 25th	vs SEA	Bryce Miller (4-5)	#39
Fri, Jun 26th	vs CIN	Andrew Abbott (5-7)	#106	vs SEA	Luis Castillo (3-9)	#61
Sat, Jun 27th	vs CIN	Chase Burns (12-1)	#29	vs SEA	Logan Gilbert (8-6)	#10
Sun, Jun 28th	vs CIN	Brady Singer (5-10)	#151	vs SEA	Emerson Hancock (6-5)	#105
Mon, Jun 29th	@ PHI	Aaron Nola (3-9)	#59	vs TEX	Tyler Alexander (1-1)	#173
Tue, Jun 30th	@ PHI	Cristopher Sanchez (14-4)	#3	vs TEX	Jacob deGrom (7-7)	#7
Wed, Jul 1st	@ PHI	Zack Wheeler (10-2)	#6	vs TEX	MacKenzie Gore (6-9)	#35
Thu, Jul 2nd	@ PHI	Alan Rangel (0-3)	#303	vs CWS	Davis Martin (9-5)	#81
Fri, Jul 3rd	@ WSH	Foster Griffin (12-3)	#56	vs CWS	Anthony Kay (7-5)	#182
Sat, Jul 4th	@ WSH	Carson Palmquist (0-1)	#306	vs CWS	Sean Burke (7-5)	#64
Sun, Jul 5th	@ WSH	Cade Cavalli (8-4)	#54	vs CWS	Chris Murphy
Tue, Jul 7th	vs ATL	Hurston Waldrep (0-1)	#322	@ MIN	Taj Bradley (9-4)	#51
Wed, Jul 8th	vs ATL	Grant Holmes (6-4)	#144	@ MIN	Connor Prielipp (3-5)	#99
Thu, Jul 9th	vs ATL	Bryce Elder (7-6)	#136	@ MIN	Bailey Ober (7-3)	#90
Sat, Jul 11th	vs MIL	Shane Drohan (6-4)	#72	@ MIA	Eury Perez (5-8)	#41
Sun, Jul 12th	vs MIL	Robert Gasser (3-4)	#115	@ MIA	Tyler Phillips (3-5)	#283
Sat, Jul 18th	@ CLE	Logan Allen (0-0)	#154	vs PIT	Mason Montgomery (4-3)	#100
Sun, Jul 19th	@ CLE	Joey Cantillo (8-6)	#88	vs PIT	Paul Skenes (9-9)	#4
Mon, Jul 20th	@ NYY	Ryan Weathers (4-7)	#71	vs MIN	Joe Ryan (6-7)	#19
Wed, Jul 22nd	@ NYY	Max Fried (4-3)	#16	vs MIN	Bailey Ober (7-3)	#90
Fri, Jul 24th	vs CHC	Matthew Boyd (6-1)	#37	@ TB	Shane McClanahan (9-6)	#49
Sat, Jul 25th	vs CHC	Shota Imanaga (7-9)	#23	@ TB	Nick Martinez (10-3)	#97
Sun, Jul 26th	vs CHC	Jameson Taillon (2-6)	#220	@ TB	Drew Rasmussen (10-5)	#20
Mon, Jul 27th	vs ARI	Merrill Kelly (8-8)	#124
Tue, Jul 28th	vs ARI	Brandon Pfaadt (5-1)	#77	@ CIN	Caleb Ferguson
Wed, Jul 29th	vs ARI	Eduardo Rodriguez (10-3)	#128	@ CIN	Brady Singer (5-10)	#151
Thu, Jul 30th	@ CIN	Rhett Lowder (3-7)	#277
Fri, Jul 31st	@ CIN	Hunter Greene (2-2)	#26	vs ARI	Mitch Bratt (0-1)	#204
Sat, Aug 1st	@ CIN	Andrew Abbott (5-7)	#106	vs ARI	Kohl Drake (0-0)	#281
Sun, Aug 2nd	@ CIN	Chase Burns (12-1)	#29	vs ARI	Merrill Kelly (8-8)	#124
Mon, Aug 3rd	@ MIL	Brandon Sproat (3-6)	#141
Tue, Aug 4th	@ MIL	Logan Henderson (5-1)	#36	vs NYM	Sean Manaea (2-5)	#107
Wed, Aug 5th	@ MIL	Kyle Harrison (8-2)	#43	vs NYM	Christian Scott (3-3)	#50
Thu, Aug 6th	@ MIL	Shane Drohan (6-4)	#72	vs NYM	Nolan McLean (7-7)	#34
Fri, Aug 7th	vs NYM	Zac Thornton (2-2)	#143	@ CWS	Noah Schultz (3-8)	#209
Sat, Aug 8th	vs NYM	Clay Holmes (4-4)	#121	@ CWS	Anthony Kay (7-5)	#182
Sun, Aug 9th	vs NYM			@ CWS	Davis Martin (9-5)	#81
Tue, Aug 11th	@ MIA	Eury Perez (5-8)	#41	@ DET	Troy Melton (6-1)	#86
Wed, Aug 12th	@ MIA			@ DET
Thu, Aug 13th	@ MIA			@ DET
Fri, Aug 14th	vs BOS			vs SD
Sat, Aug 15th	vs BOS			vs SD
Sun, Aug 16th	vs BOS			vs SD
Mon, Aug 17th	vs DET
Tue, Aug 18th	vs DET			vs SF
Wed, Aug 19th	vs DET			vs SF
Fri, Aug 21st	@ LAD			@ COL
Sat, Aug 22nd	@ LAD			@ COL
Sun, Aug 23rd	@ LAD			@ COL
Mon, Aug 24th	@ SD			@ LAA
Tue, Aug 25th	@ SD			@ LAA
Wed, Aug 26th	@ SD			@ LAA
Fri, Aug 28th	@ STL			vs KC
Sat, Aug 29th	@ STL			vs KC
Sun, Aug 30th	@ STL			vs KC
Tue, Sep 1st	vs SF			vs TOR
Wed, Sep 2nd	vs SF			vs TOR
Thu, Sep 3rd	vs SF			vs TOR
Fri, Sep 4th	vs LAA			vs DET
Sat, Sep 5th	vs LAA			vs DET
Sun, Sep 6th	vs LAA			vs DET
Tue, Sep 8th	@ CWS			@ BAL
Wed, Sep 9th	@ CWS			@ BAL
Thu, Sep 10th	@ CWS
Fri, Sep 11th	@ CHC			@ MIN
Sat, Sep 12th	@ CHC			@ MIN
Sun, Sep 13th	@ CHC			@ MIN
Tue, Sep 15th	vs MIL			vs CWS
Wed, Sep 16th	vs MIL			vs CWS
Thu, Sep 17th	vs MIL
Fri, Sep 18th	vs KC			vs ATH
Sat, Sep 19th	vs KC			vs ATH
Sun, Sep 20th	vs KC			vs ATH
Tue, Sep 22nd	vs STL			@ BOS
Wed, Sep 23rd	vs STL			@ BOS
Thu, Sep 24th	vs STL			@ BOS
Fri, Sep 25th	@ DET			@ KC
Sat, Sep 26th	@ DET			@ KC
Sun, Sep 27th	@ DET			@ KC
Fri, Mar 27th				@ SEA	George Kirby (8-9)	#21
Mon, Apr 20th				vs HOU	Spencer Arrighetti (7-5)	#282
Mon, May 4th				@ KC	Michael Wacha (5-8)	#73
Mon, May 11th				vs LAA	Brent Suter (1-2)	#187
Mon, May 18th				@ DET	Framber Valdez (6-7)	#32
Mon, Jun 8th				vs NYY	Will Warren (8-5)	#69
Thu, Jun 18th				@ MIL	Shane Drohan (6-4)	#72
Mon, Jun 22nd				@ CWS	Anthony Kay (7-5)	#182
Fri, Jul 10th				@ MIA	Sandy Alcantara (11-6)	#60
Tue, Jul 21st				vs MIN	Kendry Rojas (1-1)	#240
Thu, Jul 23rd				vs MIN	Taj Bradley (9-4)	#51
Thu, Aug 20th				vs SF
Mon, Sep 7th				@ BAL
Mon, Sep 14th				vs CWS

Who Should I Trade?

Esmerlyn Valdez for Kahlil Watson (2026)

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