Who Should I Trade?

Esmerlyn Valdez for Liam Hicks (2026)

Summary
Stats
Projections
News & Notes
Schedule

Who Should I Trade? Player Summaries
	Experts' Pick
	Liam Hicks C,1B,DH - MIA	Esmerlyn Valdez 1B,LF,RF - PIT
Expert Recommendation	67% Recommended by 4 of 6 experts	33% Recommended by 2 of 6 experts
Rankings

Rest of Season	# 93	# 167
VBR	# 283	# 197

Projections

Runs	17	19
Home Runs	4	7
RBI	16	21
Stolen Bases	1	1
Batting Average	.256	.237

Misc

Injury Alert	-	-

Expert Ranks

Scott Pianowski Yahoo! Sports	# 83	# 118

Dalton Del Don The Deep Shot	# 105	‐

Mike Maher BettingPros	# 101	‐

Kevin Spinelli KevScores	# 53	# 128

Chris Welsh FantasyPros	# 135	# 97

Kelly Kirby FantasyPros	# 196	# 188

Who Should I Trade? Player Statistics
	Liam Hicks C,1B,DH - MIA	Esmerlyn Valdez 1B,LF,RF - PIT
2026 Stats


At Bats	350	142

Runs	54	27

Hits	100	38

Singles	76	14

Doubles	9	9

Triples	1	1

Home Runs	14	14

RBI	62	38

Stolen Bases	3	0

Caught Stealing	0	1

Walks	40	23

Strikeouts	38	57

Batting Average	.286	.268

On Base Pct	.366	.369

Slugging Pct	.437	.641

On-base Plus Slugging	.804	1.010

Who Should I Trade? Player Projections
	Liam Hicks C,1B,DH - MIA	Esmerlyn Valdez 1B,LF,RF - PIT
2026 Projections


At Bats	131	135

Runs	17	19

Hits	34	32

Singles	24	19

Doubles	5	6

Triples	0	0

Home Runs	4	7

RBI	16	21

Stolen Bases	1	1

Caught Stealing	0	0

Walks	16	15

Strikeouts	20	44

Batting Average	.256	.237

On Base Pct	.345	.319

Slugging Pct	.383	.437

On-base Plus Slugging	.728	.756

Who Should I Trade? Player Notes
	Liam Hicks C,1B,DH - MIA	Esmerlyn Valdez 1B,LF,RF - PIT
News
	Liam Hicks remains a player to watch heading into the trade deadline on Monday. Ari Koslow Sun, Aug 2nd	Esmerlyn Valdez is expected to be in the lineup in Tuesday's game against the Diamondbacks. Ari Koslow Tue, Jul 28th
	The Marlins are reportedly open to trading Liam Hicks. Ari Koslow Tue, Jul 28th	The Pirates didn’t provide an update on Esmerlyn Valdez following Monday’s game against the Diamondbacks. Ari Koslow Tue, Jul 28th
	Liam Hicks went 0-for-2 with a walk, one run scored and a stolen base in Sunday's 5-3 loss against the San Diego Padres. Nicholas Rodriguez Sun, Jul 26th	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
	Liam Hicks went 2-for-5 with a home run, one run scored and two RBI in Monday's 8-5 loss to the Houston Astros. Nicholas Rodriguez 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
	Liam Hicks went 2-for-3 with an RBI and a stolen base in Saturday's 4-1 loss to the Cleveland Guardians. Nicholas Rodriguez 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
Notes
There are no recent notes for these players

Who Should I Trade? Player Schedules
Date	Opp	Opp Pitcher	VBR	Opp	Opp Pitcher	VBR
	Liam Hicks C,1B,DH - MIA			Esmerlyn Valdez 1B,LF,RF - PIT
Thu, Mar 26th				@ NYM	Freddy Peralta (5-9)	#40
Sat, Mar 28th	vs COL	Michael Lorenzen (3-9)	#436	@ NYM	David Peterson (6-7)	#89
Sun, Mar 29th	vs COL	Jose Quintana (2-3)	#433	@ NYM	Nolan McLean (7-7)	#34
Mon, Mar 30th	vs CWS	Davis Martin (9-5)	#81	@ CIN	Chase Burns (12-1)	#29
Tue, Mar 31st	vs CWS	Erick Fedde (6-6)	#372	@ CIN	Brandon Williamson (2-3)	#350
Wed, Apr 1st	vs CWS	Shane Smith (0-2)	#181	@ CIN	Andrew Abbott (5-7)	#106
Fri, Apr 3rd	@ NYY	Will Warren (8-5)	#69	vs BAL	Kyle Bradish (7-9)	#45
Sat, Apr 4th	@ NYY	Ryan Weathers (4-7)	#71	vs BAL	Shane Baz (4-10)	#70
Sun, Apr 5th	@ NYY	Max Fried (4-3)	#16	vs BAL	Chris Bassitt (4-4)	#134
Mon, Apr 6th	vs CIN	Brandon Williamson (2-3)	#350	vs SD	German Marquez (4-2)	#334
Tue, Apr 7th	vs CIN	Andrew Abbott (5-7)	#106	vs SD	Nick Pivetta (1-2)	#101
Wed, Apr 8th	vs CIN	Brady Singer (5-10)	#151	vs SD	Michael King (6-7)	#57
Fri, Apr 10th	@ DET	Keider Montero (7-6)	#145	@ CHC	Shota Imanaga (7-9)	#23
Sat, Apr 11th	@ DET	Casey Mize (4-6)	#38	@ CHC	Edward Cabrera (5-4)	#76
Sun, Apr 12th	@ DET	Tarik Skubal (7-5)	#2	@ CHC	Jameson Taillon (2-6)	#220
Mon, Apr 13th	@ ATL	Grant Holmes (6-4)	#144	vs WSH	Cade Cavalli (8-4)	#54
Tue, Apr 14th	@ ATL	Reynaldo Lopez (4-3)	#82	vs WSH	PJ Poulin (3-0)	#290
Wed, Apr 15th	@ ATL	Bryce Elder (7-6)	#136	vs WSH	Jake Irvin (2-5)	#169
Thu, Apr 16th				vs WSH	Foster Griffin (12-3)	#56
Fri, Apr 17th	vs MIL	Coleman Crow (0-1)	#205	vs TB	Nick Martinez (10-3)	#97
Sat, Apr 18th	vs MIL	Brandon Woodruff (2-2)		vs TB	Drew Rasmussen (10-5)	#20
Sun, Apr 19th	vs MIL	Jacob Misiorowski (11-4)	#5	vs TB	Shane McClanahan (9-6)	#49
Tue, Apr 21st	vs STL	Dustin May (5-7)	#55	@ TEX	Kumar Rocker (4-8)	#79
Wed, Apr 22nd	vs STL	Kyle Leahy (7-4)	#125	@ TEX	Jack Leiter (3-7)	#123
Thu, Apr 23rd				@ TEX	Jacob deGrom (7-7)	#7
Fri, Apr 24th	@ SF	Adrian Houser (2-7)	#239	@ MIL	Brandon Woodruff (2-2)
Sat, Apr 25th	@ SF	Robbie Ray (10-6)	#96	@ MIL	Jacob Misiorowski (11-4)	#5
Sun, Apr 26th	@ SF	Landen Roupp (7-9)	#63	@ MIL	Kyle Harrison (8-2)	#43
Mon, Apr 27th	@ LAD	Yoshinobu Yamamoto (11-7)	#12	vs STL	Dustin May (5-7)	#55
Tue, Apr 28th	@ LAD	Shohei Ohtani (8-2)	#1	vs STL	Kyle Leahy (7-4)	#125
Wed, Apr 29th	@ LAD	Tyler Glasnow (3-0)	#65	vs STL	Andre Pallante (11-6)	#109
Thu, Apr 30th				vs STL	Hunter Dobbins (2-1)	#162
Fri, May 1st	vs PHI	Zack Wheeler (10-2)	#6	vs CIN	Brady Singer (5-10)	#151
Sat, May 2nd	vs PHI	Andrew Painter (1-8)	#206	vs CIN	Rhett Lowder (3-7)	#277
Sun, May 3rd	vs PHI	Jesus Luzardo (9-5)	#11	vs CIN	Chase Burns (12-1)	#29
Tue, May 5th	vs BAL	Chris Bassitt (4-4)	#134	@ ARI	Eduardo Rodriguez (10-3)	#128
Wed, May 6th	vs BAL	Brandon Young (8-2)	#140	@ ARI	Michael Soroka (8-3)	#67
Thu, May 7th	vs BAL	Cade Povich (1-1)	#218	@ ARI	Zac Gallen (3-9)	#172
Fri, May 8th	vs WSH	Foster Griffin (12-3)	#56	@ SF	Robbie Ray (10-6)	#96
Sat, May 9th	vs WSH	Richard Lovelady (2-4)	#363	@ SF	Landen Roupp (7-9)	#63
Sun, May 10th	vs WSH	Cade Cavalli (8-4)	#54	@ SF	Tyler Mahle (3-9)	#78
Tue, May 12th	@ MIN	Bailey Ober (7-3)	#90	vs COL	Michael Lorenzen (3-9)	#436
Wed, May 13th	@ MIN	Simeon Woods Richardson (1-7)		vs COL	Jose Quintana (2-3)	#433
Thu, May 14th	@ MIN	Zebby Matthews (4-8)	#131	vs COL	Chase Dollander (3-3)
Fri, May 15th	@ TB	Ian Seymour (7-3)	#85	vs PHI	Aaron Nola (3-9)	#59
Sat, May 16th	@ TB	Nick Martinez (10-3)	#97	vs PHI	Cristopher Sanchez (14-4)	#3
Sun, May 17th	@ TB	Drew Rasmussen (10-5)	#20	vs PHI	Zack Wheeler (10-2)	#6
Tue, May 19th	vs ATL	Martin Perez (7-6)	#216	@ STL	Matthew Liberatore (5-8)	#118
Wed, May 20th	vs ATL	Chris Sale (12-6)	#8	@ STL	Michael McGreevy (4-9)	#95
Thu, May 21st	vs ATL	Spencer Strider (4-2)	#267	@ STL	Dustin May (5-7)	#55
Fri, May 22nd	vs NYM	Tobias Myers (0-2)	#201	@ TOR	Kevin Gausman (5-10)	#27
Sat, May 23rd	vs NYM	Freddy Peralta (5-9)	#40	@ TOR	Patrick Corbin (3-4)	#300
Sun, May 24th	vs NYM	Christian Scott (3-3)	#50	@ TOR	Dylan Cease (7-5)	#9
Mon, May 25th	@ TOR	Trey Yesavage (5-5)	#68	vs CHC	Ben Brown (4-2)	#93
Tue, May 26th	@ TOR	Braydon Fisher (3-3)	#183	vs CHC	Jordan Wicks (0-2)	#226
Wed, May 27th	@ TOR	Kevin Gausman (5-10)	#27	vs CHC	Jameson Taillon (2-6)	#220
Thu, May 28th				vs CHC	Colin Rea (8-7)	#176
Fri, May 29th	@ NYM	Freddy Peralta (5-9)	#40	vs MIN	Taj Bradley (9-4)	#51
Sat, May 30th	@ NYM	Christian Scott (3-3)	#50	vs MIN	Bailey Ober (7-3)	#90
Sun, May 31st	@ NYM	Nolan McLean (7-7)	#34	vs MIN	Zebby Matthews (4-8)	#131
Tue, Jun 2nd	@ WSH	Richard Lovelady (2-4)	#363	@ HOU	Mike Burrows (4-9)	#210
Wed, Jun 3rd	@ WSH	Andrew Alvarez (2-3)	#197	@ HOU	Spencer Arrighetti (7-5)	#282
Thu, Jun 4th				@ HOU	Kai-Wei Teng (5-6)	#261
Fri, Jun 5th	vs TB	Drew Rasmussen (10-5)	#20	@ ATL	Martin Perez (7-6)	#216
Sat, Jun 6th	vs TB	Shane McClanahan (9-6)	#49	@ ATL	Spencer Strider (4-2)	#267
Sun, Jun 7th	vs TB	Griffin Jax (6-8)	#58	@ ATL	Bryce Elder (7-6)	#136
Tue, Jun 9th	vs ARI	Zac Gallen (3-9)	#172	vs LAD	Eric Lauer (6-5)	#347
Wed, Jun 10th	vs ARI	Ryne Nelson (3-5)	#207	vs LAD	Shohei Ohtani (8-2)	#1
Thu, Jun 11th	vs ARI	Merrill Kelly (8-8)	#124	vs LAD	Justin Wrobleski (11-2)	#80
Fri, Jun 12th	@ PIT	Braxton Ashcraft (11-4)	#31	vs MIA	Sandy Alcantara (11-6)	#60
Sat, Jun 13th	@ PIT	Bubba Chandler (3-8)	#103	vs MIA	Lake Bachar (1-2)	#194
Sun, Jun 14th	@ PIT	Paul Skenes (9-9)	#4	vs MIA	Max Meyer (9-1)	#75
Mon, Jun 15th	@ PHI	Zack Wheeler (10-2)	#6	@ ATH	J.T. Ginn (8-6)	#160
Tue, Jun 16th	@ PHI	Jesus Luzardo (9-5)	#11	@ ATH	Jack Perkins (2-7)	#98
Wed, Jun 17th	@ PHI	Andrew Painter (1-8)	#206	@ ATH	Aaron Civale (5-7)	#202
Fri, Jun 19th	vs SF	Landen Roupp (7-9)	#63	@ COL	Kyle Freeland (2-10)	#394
Sat, Jun 20th	vs SF	Trevor McDonald (3-7)		@ COL	Tomoyuki Sugano (11-4)	#437
Sun, Jun 21st	vs SF	Logan Webb (6-7)	#18	@ COL	Michael Lorenzen (3-9)	#436
Tue, Jun 23rd	vs TEX	Cal Quantrill (4-3)	#289	vs SEA	George Kirby (8-9)	#21
Wed, Jun 24th	vs TEX	Jacob deGrom (7-7)	#7	vs SEA	Bryan Woo (7-8)	#13
Thu, Jun 25th				vs SEA	Bryce Miller (4-5)	#39
Fri, Jun 26th	@ STL	Michael McGreevy (4-9)	#95	vs CIN	Andrew Abbott (5-7)	#106
Sat, Jun 27th	@ STL	Andre Pallante (11-6)	#109	vs CIN	Chase Burns (12-1)	#29
Sun, Jun 28th	@ STL	Kyle Leahy (7-4)	#125	vs CIN	Brady Singer (5-10)	#151
Mon, Jun 29th	@ COL	Sean Sullivan (0-3)	#428	@ PHI	Aaron Nola (3-9)	#59
Tue, Jun 30th	@ COL	Tanner Gordon (0-2)	#425	@ PHI	Cristopher Sanchez (14-4)	#3
Wed, Jul 1st	@ COL	Kyle Freeland (2-10)	#394	@ PHI	Zack Wheeler (10-2)	#6
Thu, Jul 2nd	@ COL	Michael Lorenzen (3-9)	#436	@ PHI	Alan Rangel (0-3)	#303
Fri, Jul 3rd	@ ATH	Jack Perkins (2-7)	#98	@ WSH	Foster Griffin (12-3)	#56
Sat, Jul 4th	@ ATH	Aaron Civale (5-7)	#202	@ WSH	Carson Palmquist (0-1)	#306
Sun, Jul 5th	@ ATH	Gage Jump (4-6)	#87	@ WSH	Cade Cavalli (8-4)	#54
Tue, Jul 7th	vs SEA	Bryan Woo (7-8)	#13	vs ATL	Hurston Waldrep (0-1)	#322
Wed, Jul 8th	vs SEA	George Kirby (8-9)	#21	vs ATL	Grant Holmes (6-4)	#144
Thu, Jul 9th	vs SEA	Bryce Miller (4-5)	#39	vs ATL	Bryce Elder (7-6)	#136
Sat, Jul 11th	vs CLE	Tanner Bibee (4-11)	#53	vs MIL	Shane Drohan (6-4)	#72
Sun, Jul 12th	vs CLE	Joey Cantillo (8-6)	#88	vs MIL	Robert Gasser (3-4)	#115
Sat, Jul 18th	@ MIL	Shane Drohan (6-4)	#72	@ CLE	Logan Allen (0-0)	#154
Sun, Jul 19th	@ MIL	Robert Gasser (3-4)	#115	@ CLE	Joey Cantillo (8-6)	#88
Mon, Jul 20th	@ HOU	Ronel Blanco (0-1)	#127	@ NYY	Ryan Weathers (4-7)	#71
Wed, Jul 22nd	@ HOU	Peter Lambert (8-5)	#153	@ NYY	Max Fried (4-3)	#16
Fri, Jul 24th	vs SD	German Marquez (4-2)	#334	vs CHC	Matthew Boyd (6-1)	#37
Sat, Jul 25th	vs SD	Randy Vasquez (6-6)	#252	vs CHC	Shota Imanaga (7-9)	#23
Sun, Jul 26th	vs SD	Walker Buehler (6-5)	#213	vs CHC	Jameson Taillon (2-6)	#220
Mon, Jul 27th	vs PHI	Zack Wheeler (10-2)	#6	vs ARI	Merrill Kelly (8-8)	#124
Tue, Jul 28th	vs PHI	Aaron Nola (3-9)	#59	vs ARI	Brandon Pfaadt (5-1)	#77
Wed, Jul 29th	vs PHI	Jesus Luzardo (9-5)	#11	vs ARI	Eduardo Rodriguez (10-3)	#128
Thu, Jul 30th	@ NYM	Nolan McLean (7-7)	#34	@ CIN	Rhett Lowder (3-7)	#277
Fri, Jul 31st	@ NYM	Kodai Senga (0-8)	#198	@ CIN	Hunter Greene (2-2)	#26
Sat, Aug 1st	@ NYM	Zac Thornton (2-2)	#143	@ CIN	Andrew Abbott (5-7)	#106
Sun, Aug 2nd	@ NYM	Robert Stock	#362	@ CIN	Chase Burns (12-1)	#29
Mon, Aug 3rd				@ MIL	Brandon Sproat (3-6)	#141
Tue, Aug 4th	@ ATL	Chris Sale (12-6)	#8	@ MIL	Logan Henderson (5-1)	#36
Wed, Aug 5th	@ ATL	Grant Holmes (6-4)	#144	@ MIL	Kyle Harrison (8-2)	#43
Thu, Aug 6th	@ ATL	Bryce Elder (7-6)	#136	@ MIL	Shane Drohan (6-4)	#72
Fri, Aug 7th	vs LAA	Jose Soriano (9-6)	#52	vs NYM	Zac Thornton (2-2)	#143
Sat, Aug 8th	vs LAA	Walbert Urena (6-7)	#294	vs NYM	Clay Holmes (4-4)	#121
Sun, Aug 9th	vs LAA	Reid Detmers (3-7)	#33	vs NYM	Sean Manaea (2-5)	#107
Tue, Aug 11th	vs PIT	Paul Skenes (9-9)	#4	@ MIA	Eury Perez (5-8)	#41
Wed, Aug 12th	vs PIT			@ MIA
Thu, Aug 13th	vs PIT			@ MIA
Fri, Aug 14th	@ CIN			vs BOS
Sat, Aug 15th	@ CIN			vs BOS
Sun, Aug 16th	@ CIN			vs BOS
Mon, Aug 17th	@ PHI			vs DET
Tue, Aug 18th	@ PHI			vs DET
Wed, Aug 19th	@ PHI			vs DET
Fri, Aug 21st	vs WSH			@ LAD
Sat, Aug 22nd	vs WSH			@ LAD
Sun, Aug 23rd	vs WSH			@ LAD
Mon, Aug 24th	vs BOS			@ SD
Tue, Aug 25th	vs BOS			@ SD
Wed, Aug 26th	vs BOS			@ SD
Fri, Aug 28th	@ WSH			@ STL
Sat, Aug 29th	@ WSH			@ STL
Sun, Aug 30th	@ WSH			@ STL
Tue, Sep 1st	@ KC			vs SF
Wed, Sep 2nd	@ KC			vs SF
Thu, Sep 3rd	@ KC			vs SF
Fri, Sep 4th	vs CHC			vs LAA
Sat, Sep 5th	vs CHC			vs LAA
Sun, Sep 6th	vs CHC			vs LAA
Tue, Sep 8th	vs NYM			@ CWS
Wed, Sep 9th	vs NYM			@ CWS
Thu, Sep 10th				@ CWS
Fri, Sep 11th	vs LAD			@ CHC
Sat, Sep 12th	vs LAD			@ CHC
Sun, Sep 13th	vs LAD			@ CHC
Tue, Sep 15th	@ ARI			vs MIL
Wed, Sep 16th	@ ARI			vs MIL
Thu, Sep 17th				vs MIL
Fri, Sep 18th	@ SD			vs KC
Sat, Sep 19th	@ SD			vs KC
Sun, Sep 20th	@ SD			vs KC
Tue, Sep 22nd	@ CHC			vs STL
Wed, Sep 23rd	@ CHC			vs STL
Thu, Sep 24th	@ CHC			vs STL
Fri, Sep 25th	vs ATL			@ DET
Sat, Sep 26th	vs ATL			@ DET
Sun, Sep 27th	vs ATL			@ DET
Fri, Mar 27th	vs COL	Kyle Freeland (2-10)	#394
Thu, Apr 9th	vs CIN	Rhett Lowder (3-7)	#277
Mon, Apr 20th	vs STL	Michael McGreevy (4-9)	#95
Mon, May 4th	vs PHI	Aaron Nola (3-9)	#59
Mon, May 18th	vs ATL	JR Ritchie (1-2)	#278
Mon, Jun 1st	@ WSH	Cade Cavalli (8-4)	#54
Mon, Jun 22nd	vs TEX	Tyler Alexander (1-1)	#173
Fri, Jul 10th	vs CLE	Parker Messick (8-6)	#44
Fri, Jul 17th	@ MIL	Logan Henderson (5-1)	#36
Tue, Jul 21st	@ HOU	Tatsuya Imai (6-4)	#139
Mon, Aug 31st	@ WSH
Mon, Sep 7th	vs NYM
Mon, Sep 14th	@ ARI

Who Should I Trade?

Esmerlyn Valdez for Liam Hicks (2026)

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