Who Should I Trade?

Esmerlyn Valdez for Munetaka Murakami (2026)

Summary
Stats
Projections
News & Notes
Schedule

Who Should I Trade? Player Summaries
	Experts' Pick
	Munetaka Murakami 1B,3B,DH - CWS	Esmerlyn Valdez 1B,LF,RF - PIT
Expert Recommendation	100% Recommended by 6 of 6 experts	0% Recommended by 0 of 6 experts
Rankings

Rest of Season	# 55	# 167
VBR	# 45	# 197

Projections

Runs	29	19
Home Runs	12	7
RBI	30	21
Stolen Bases	3	1
Batting Average	.230	.237

Misc

Injury Alert	-	-

Expert Ranks

Scott Pianowski Yahoo! Sports	# 61	# 118

Dalton Del Don The Deep Shot	# 133	‐

Chris Welsh FantasyPros	# 40	# 99

Mike Maher BettingPros	# 54	‐

Kelly Kirby FantasyPros	# 58	# 188

Kevin Spinelli KevScores	# 63	# 128

Who Should I Trade? Player Statistics
	Munetaka Murakami 1B,3B,DH - CWS	Esmerlyn Valdez 1B,LF,RF - PIT
2026 Stats


At Bats	266	142

Runs	59	27

Hits	65	38

Singles	32	14

Doubles	9	9

Triples	0	1

Home Runs	24	14

RBI	51	38

Stolen Bases	1	0

Caught Stealing	3	1

Walks	58	23

Strikeouts	107	57

Batting Average	.244	.268

On Base Pct	.380	.369

Slugging Pct	.549	.641

On-base Plus Slugging	.929	1.010

Who Should I Trade? Player Projections
	Munetaka Murakami 1B,3B,DH - CWS	Esmerlyn Valdez 1B,LF,RF - PIT
2026 Projections


At Bats	171	135

Runs	29	19

Hits	39	32

Singles	21	19

Doubles	6	6

Triples	0	0

Home Runs	12	7

RBI	30	21

Stolen Bases	3	1

Caught Stealing	1	0

Walks	31	15

Strikeouts	66	44

Batting Average	.230	.237

On Base Pct	.359	.319

Slugging Pct	.476	.437

On-base Plus Slugging	.835	.756

Who Should I Trade? Player Notes
	Munetaka Murakami 1B,3B,DH - CWS	Esmerlyn Valdez 1B,LF,RF - PIT
News
	Munetaka Murakami went 2-for-4 in a 6-1 win over the Rays with a home run, two runs scored, and two RBI. Chris Schommer Sat, Aug 1st	Esmerlyn Valdez is expected to be in the lineup in Tuesday's game against the Diamondbacks. Ari Koslow Tue, Jul 28th
	Munetaka Murakami went 1-for-4 in Wednesday’s win over the Yankees with a home run, three runs scored, one RBI, and one walk. Chris Schommer Thu, Jul 30th	The Pirates didn’t provide an update on Esmerlyn Valdez following Monday’s game against the Diamondbacks. Ari Koslow Tue, Jul 28th
	Munetaka Murakami went 3-for-5 in Sunday's 12-3 win over the Astros with two home runs, three runs scored, and six RBI. Chris Schommer 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
	Munetaka Murakami has been named as the final participant in Monday's Home Run Derby. Ari Koslow Fri, Jul 10th	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 White Sox activated Munetaka Murakami from the injured list. Ari Koslow Fri, Jul 10th	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
	Munetaka Murakami 1B,3B,DH - CWS			Esmerlyn Valdez 1B,LF,RF - PIT
Thu, Mar 26th	@ MIL	Jacob Misiorowski (11-4)	#5	@ NYM	Freddy Peralta (5-9)	#40
Sat, Mar 28th	@ MIL	Chad Patrick (6-4)	#117	@ NYM	David Peterson (6-7)	#89
Sun, Mar 29th	@ MIL	Brandon Sproat (3-6)	#141	@ NYM	Nolan McLean (7-7)	#34
Mon, Mar 30th	@ MIA	Chris Paddack (0-7)		@ CIN	Chase Burns (12-1)	#29
Tue, Mar 31st	@ MIA	Janson Junk (5-6)	#120	@ CIN	Brandon Williamson (2-3)	#350
Wed, Apr 1st	@ MIA	Sandy Alcantara (11-6)	#60	@ CIN	Andrew Abbott (5-7)	#106
Fri, Apr 3rd	vs TOR	Dylan Cease (7-5)	#9	vs BAL	Kyle Bradish (7-9)	#45
Sat, Apr 4th	vs TOR	Mason Fluharty (5-1)	#146	vs BAL	Shane Baz (4-10)	#70
Sun, Apr 5th	vs TOR	Eric Lauer (6-5)	#347	vs BAL	Chris Bassitt (4-4)	#134
Mon, Apr 6th	vs BAL	Brandon Young (8-2)	#140	vs SD	German Marquez (4-2)	#334
Tue, Apr 7th	vs BAL	Trevor Rogers (6-7)	#66	vs SD	Nick Pivetta (1-2)	#101
Wed, Apr 8th	vs BAL	Kyle Bradish (7-9)	#45	vs SD	Michael King (6-7)	#57
Fri, Apr 10th	@ KC	Kris Bubic (3-2)	#110	@ CHC	Shota Imanaga (7-9)	#23
Sat, Apr 11th	@ KC	Michael Wacha (5-8)	#73	@ CHC	Edward Cabrera (5-4)	#76
Sun, Apr 12th	@ KC	Noah Cameron (5-8)	#84	@ CHC	Jameson Taillon (2-6)	#220
Mon, Apr 13th				vs WSH	Cade Cavalli (8-4)	#54
Tue, Apr 14th	vs TB	Shane McClanahan (9-6)	#49	vs WSH	PJ Poulin (3-0)	#290
Wed, Apr 15th	vs TB	Cole Sulser		vs WSH	Jake Irvin (2-5)	#169
Thu, Apr 16th	vs TB	Steven Matz (4-4)	#186	vs WSH	Foster Griffin (12-3)	#56
Fri, Apr 17th	@ ATH	Aaron Civale (5-7)	#202	vs TB	Nick Martinez (10-3)	#97
Sat, Apr 18th	@ ATH	Luis Severino (2-6)	#231	vs TB	Drew Rasmussen (10-5)	#20
Sun, Apr 19th	@ ATH	Jeffrey Springs (3-11)	#246	vs TB	Shane McClanahan (9-6)	#49
Tue, Apr 21st	@ ARI	Merrill Kelly (8-8)	#124	@ TEX	Kumar Rocker (4-8)	#79
Wed, Apr 22nd	@ ARI	Eduardo Rodriguez (10-3)	#128	@ TEX	Jack Leiter (3-7)	#123
Thu, Apr 23rd	@ ARI	Michael Soroka (8-3)	#67	@ TEX	Jacob deGrom (7-7)	#7
Fri, Apr 24th	vs WSH	PJ Poulin (3-0)	#290	@ MIL	Brandon Woodruff (2-2)
Sat, Apr 25th	vs WSH	Jake Irvin (2-5)	#169	@ MIL	Jacob Misiorowski (11-4)	#5
Sun, Apr 26th	vs WSH	Foster Griffin (12-3)	#56	@ MIL	Kyle Harrison (8-2)	#43
Mon, Apr 27th	vs LAA	Jack Kochanowicz (2-5)		vs STL	Dustin May (5-7)	#55
Tue, Apr 28th	vs LAA	Jose Soriano (9-6)	#52	vs STL	Kyle Leahy (7-4)	#125
Wed, Apr 29th	vs LAA	Yusei Kikuchi (0-3)	#122	vs STL	Andre Pallante (11-6)	#109
Thu, Apr 30th				vs STL	Hunter Dobbins (2-1)	#162
Fri, May 1st	@ SD	German Marquez (4-2)	#334	vs CIN	Brady Singer (5-10)	#151
Sat, May 2nd	@ SD	Michael King (6-7)	#57	vs CIN	Rhett Lowder (3-7)	#277
Sun, May 3rd	@ SD	Griffin Canning (2-9)	#155	vs CIN	Chase Burns (12-1)	#29
Tue, May 5th	@ LAA	Sam Aldegheri (3-4)	#424	@ ARI	Eduardo Rodriguez (10-3)	#128
Wed, May 6th	@ LAA	Walbert Urena (6-7)	#294	@ ARI	Michael Soroka (8-3)	#67
Thu, May 7th				@ ARI	Zac Gallen (3-9)	#172
Fri, May 8th	vs SEA	Emerson Hancock (6-5)	#105	@ SF	Robbie Ray (10-6)	#96
Sat, May 9th	vs SEA	Luis Castillo (3-9)	#61	@ SF	Landen Roupp (7-9)	#63
Sun, May 10th	vs SEA	Logan Gilbert (8-6)	#10	@ SF	Tyler Mahle (3-9)	#78
Tue, May 12th	vs KC	Stephen Kolek (4-3)	#357	vs COL	Michael Lorenzen (3-9)	#436
Wed, May 13th	vs KC	Seth Lugo (4-6)	#129	vs COL	Jose Quintana (2-3)	#433
Thu, May 14th	vs KC	Kris Bubic (3-2)	#110	vs COL	Chase Dollander (3-3)
Fri, May 15th	vs CHC	Edward Cabrera (5-4)	#76	vs PHI	Aaron Nola (3-9)	#59
Sat, May 16th	vs CHC	Jameson Taillon (2-6)	#220	vs PHI	Cristopher Sanchez (14-4)	#3
Sun, May 17th	vs CHC	Colin Rea (8-7)	#176	vs PHI	Zack Wheeler (10-2)	#6
Tue, May 19th	@ SEA	Bryce Miller (4-5)	#39	@ STL	Matthew Liberatore (5-8)	#118
Wed, May 20th	@ SEA	Emerson Hancock (6-5)	#105	@ STL	Michael McGreevy (4-9)	#95
Thu, May 21st				@ STL	Dustin May (5-7)	#55
Fri, May 22nd	@ SF	Trevor McDonald (3-7)		@ TOR	Kevin Gausman (5-10)	#27
Sat, May 23rd	@ SF	Adrian Houser (2-7)	#239	@ TOR	Patrick Corbin (3-4)	#300
Sun, May 24th	@ SF	Robbie Ray (10-6)	#96	@ TOR	Dylan Cease (7-5)	#9
Mon, May 25th	vs MIN	Zebby Matthews (4-8)	#131	vs CHC	Ben Brown (4-2)	#93
Tue, May 26th	vs MIN	Joe Ryan (6-7)	#19	vs CHC	Jordan Wicks (0-2)	#226
Wed, May 27th	vs MIN	Connor Prielipp (3-5)	#99	vs CHC	Jameson Taillon (2-6)	#220
Thu, May 28th	vs MIN	Simeon Woods Richardson (1-7)		vs CHC	Colin Rea (8-7)	#176
Fri, May 29th	vs DET	Troy Melton (6-1)	#86	vs MIN	Taj Bradley (9-4)	#51
Sat, May 30th	vs DET	Framber Valdez (6-7)	#32	vs MIN	Bailey Ober (7-3)	#90
Sun, May 31st	vs DET	Keider Montero (7-6)	#145	vs MIN	Zebby Matthews (4-8)	#131
Tue, Jun 2nd	@ MIN	Connor Prielipp (3-5)	#99	@ HOU	Mike Burrows (4-9)	#210
Wed, Jun 3rd	@ MIN	Taj Bradley (9-4)	#51	@ HOU	Spencer Arrighetti (7-5)	#282
Thu, Jun 4th				@ HOU	Kai-Wei Teng (5-6)	#261
Fri, Jun 5th	@ PHI	Jesus Luzardo (9-5)	#11	@ ATL	Martin Perez (7-6)	#216
Sat, Jun 6th	@ PHI	Andrew Painter (1-8)	#206	@ ATL	Spencer Strider (4-2)	#267
Sun, Jun 7th	@ PHI	Aaron Nola (3-9)	#59	@ ATL	Bryce Elder (7-6)	#136
Tue, Jun 9th	vs ATL	Grant Holmes (6-4)	#144	vs LAD	Eric Lauer (6-5)	#347
Wed, Jun 10th	vs ATL	Chris Sale (12-6)	#8	vs LAD	Shohei Ohtani (8-2)	#1
Thu, Jun 11th				vs LAD	Justin Wrobleski (11-2)	#80
Fri, Jun 12th	vs LAD	Roki Sasaki (5-5)	#92	vs MIA	Sandy Alcantara (11-6)	#60
Sat, Jun 13th	vs LAD	Yoshinobu Yamamoto (11-7)	#12	vs MIA	Lake Bachar (1-2)	#194
Sun, Jun 14th	vs LAD	Emmet Sheehan (4-7)	#48	vs MIA	Max Meyer (9-1)	#75
Mon, Jun 15th				@ ATH	J.T. Ginn (8-6)	#160
Tue, Jun 16th	@ NYY	Gerrit Cole (4-5)	#25	@ ATH	Jack Perkins (2-7)	#98
Wed, Jun 17th	@ NYY	Carlos Rodon (4-2)	#104	@ ATH	Aaron Civale (5-7)	#202
Fri, Jun 19th	@ DET	Tarik Skubal (7-5)	#2	@ COL	Kyle Freeland (2-10)	#394
Sat, Jun 20th	@ DET	Troy Melton (6-1)	#86	@ COL	Tomoyuki Sugano (11-4)	#437
Sun, Jun 21st	@ DET	Keider Montero (7-6)	#145	@ COL	Michael Lorenzen (3-9)	#436
Tue, Jun 23rd	vs CLE	Parker Messick (8-6)	#44	vs SEA	George Kirby (8-9)	#21
Wed, Jun 24th	vs CLE	Tanner Bibee (4-11)	#53	vs SEA	Bryan Woo (7-8)	#13
Thu, Jun 25th				vs SEA	Bryce Miller (4-5)	#39
Fri, Jun 26th	vs KC	Steven Cruz		vs CIN	Andrew Abbott (5-7)	#106
Sat, Jun 27th	vs KC	Michael Wacha (5-8)	#73	vs CIN	Chase Burns (12-1)	#29
Sun, Jun 28th	vs KC	Luinder Avila (5-4)	#280	vs CIN	Brady Singer (5-10)	#151
Mon, Jun 29th	@ BAL	Shane Baz (4-10)	#70	@ PHI	Aaron Nola (3-9)	#59
Tue, Jun 30th	@ BAL	Trey Gibson (1-3)	#297	@ PHI	Cristopher Sanchez (14-4)	#3
Wed, Jul 1st	@ BAL	Dean Kremer (1-4)	#116	@ PHI	Zack Wheeler (10-2)	#6
Thu, Jul 2nd	@ CLE	Slade Cecconi (4-7)	#135	@ PHI	Alan Rangel (0-3)	#303
Fri, Jul 3rd	@ CLE	Gavin Williams (10-6)	#24	@ WSH	Foster Griffin (12-3)	#56
Sat, Jul 4th	@ CLE	Parker Messick (8-6)	#44	@ WSH	Carson Palmquist (0-1)	#306
Sun, Jul 5th	@ CLE	Tanner Bibee (4-11)	#53	@ WSH	Cade Cavalli (8-4)	#54
Tue, Jul 7th	vs BOS	Payton Tolle (6-6)	#42	vs ATL	Hurston Waldrep (0-1)	#322
Wed, Jul 8th	vs BOS	Jake Bennett (6-4)	#83	vs ATL	Grant Holmes (6-4)	#144
Thu, Jul 9th	vs BOS	Patrick Sandoval (0-0)	#130	vs ATL	Bryce Elder (7-6)	#136
Sat, Jul 11th	vs ATH	Gage Jump (4-6)	#87	vs MIL	Shane Drohan (6-4)	#72
Sun, Jul 12th	vs ATH	J.T. Ginn (8-6)	#160	vs MIL	Robert Gasser (3-4)	#115
Sat, Jul 18th	@ TOR	Shane Bieber (2-2)	#91	@ CLE	Logan Allen (0-0)	#154
Sun, Jul 19th	@ TOR	Trey Yesavage (5-5)	#68	@ CLE	Joey Cantillo (8-6)	#88
Mon, Jul 20th	@ TEX	Jacob deGrom (7-7)	#7	@ NYY	Ryan Weathers (4-7)	#71
Wed, Jul 22nd	@ TEX	Tyler Alexander (1-1)	#173	@ NYY	Max Fried (4-3)	#16
Fri, Jul 24th	vs HOU	Spencer Arrighetti (7-5)	#282	vs CHC	Matthew Boyd (6-1)	#37
Sat, Jul 25th	vs HOU	Hunter Brown (3-1)	#17	vs CHC	Shota Imanaga (7-9)	#23
Sun, Jul 26th	vs HOU	Ronel Blanco (0-1)	#127	vs CHC	Jameson Taillon (2-6)	#220
Mon, Jul 27th	vs NYY	Max Fried (4-3)	#16	vs ARI	Merrill Kelly (8-8)	#124
Tue, Jul 28th	vs NYY	Gerrit Cole (4-5)	#25	vs ARI	Brandon Pfaadt (5-1)	#77
Wed, Jul 29th	vs NYY	Cam Schlittler (10-6)	#14	vs ARI	Eduardo Rodriguez (10-3)	#128
Thu, Jul 30th	vs NYY	Ryan Weathers (4-7)	#71	@ CIN	Rhett Lowder (3-7)	#277
Fri, Jul 31st	@ TB	Nick Martinez (10-3)	#97	@ CIN	Hunter Greene (2-2)	#26
Sat, Aug 1st	@ TB	Drew Rasmussen (10-5)	#20	@ CIN	Andrew Abbott (5-7)	#106
Sun, Aug 2nd	@ TB	Griffin Jax (6-8)	#58	@ CIN	Chase Burns (12-1)	#29
Mon, Aug 3rd				@ MIL	Brandon Sproat (3-6)	#141
Tue, Aug 4th	@ BOS	Patrick Sandoval (0-0)	#130	@ MIL	Logan Henderson (5-1)	#36
Wed, Aug 5th	@ BOS	Sonny Gray (13-2)	#28	@ MIL	Shane Drohan (6-4)	#72
Thu, Aug 6th	@ BOS	Ranger Suarez (4-3)	#22	@ MIL	Robert Gasser (3-4)	#115
Fri, Aug 7th	vs CLE	Parker Messick (8-6)	#44	vs NYM	Freddy Peralta (5-9)	#40
Sat, Aug 8th	vs CLE	Gavin Williams (10-6)	#24	vs NYM	Zac Thornton (2-2)	#143
Sun, Aug 9th	vs CLE	Slade Cecconi (4-7)	#135	vs NYM	Christian Scott (3-3)	#50
Tue, Aug 11th	vs CIN			@ MIA
Wed, Aug 12th	vs CIN			@ MIA
Thu, Aug 13th	vs CIN			@ MIA
Fri, Aug 14th	@ DET			vs BOS
Sat, Aug 15th	@ DET			vs BOS
Sun, Aug 16th	@ DET			vs BOS
Mon, Aug 17th	@ CHC			vs DET
Tue, Aug 18th	@ CHC			vs DET
Wed, Aug 19th	@ CHC			vs DET
Fri, Aug 21st	vs NYM			@ LAD
Sat, Aug 22nd	vs NYM			@ LAD
Sun, Aug 23rd	vs NYM			@ LAD
Mon, Aug 24th	vs TEX			@ SD
Tue, Aug 25th	vs TEX			@ SD
Wed, Aug 26th	vs TEX			@ SD
Fri, Aug 28th	@ MIN			@ STL
Sat, Aug 29th	@ MIN			@ STL
Sun, Aug 30th	@ MIN			@ STL
Tue, Sep 1st	@ HOU			vs SF
Wed, Sep 2nd	@ HOU			vs SF
Thu, Sep 3rd	@ HOU			vs SF
Fri, Sep 4th	vs MIN			vs LAA
Sat, Sep 5th	vs MIN			vs LAA
Sun, Sep 6th	vs MIN			vs LAA
Tue, Sep 8th	vs PIT			@ CWS
Wed, Sep 9th	vs PIT			@ CWS
Thu, Sep 10th	vs PIT			@ CWS
Fri, Sep 11th	@ STL			@ CHC
Sat, Sep 12th	@ STL			@ CHC
Sun, Sep 13th	@ STL			@ CHC
Tue, Sep 15th	@ CLE			vs MIL
Wed, Sep 16th	@ CLE			vs MIL
Thu, Sep 17th	vs DET			vs MIL
Fri, Sep 18th	vs DET			vs KC
Sat, Sep 19th	vs DET			vs KC
Sun, Sep 20th	vs DET			vs KC
Tue, Sep 22nd	@ KC			vs STL
Wed, Sep 23rd	@ KC			vs STL
Thu, Sep 24th	@ KC			vs STL
Fri, Sep 25th	vs COL			@ DET
Sat, Sep 26th	vs COL			@ DET
Sun, Sep 27th	vs COL			@ DET
Thu, Apr 9th	@ KC	Seth Lugo (4-6)	#129
Mon, May 4th	@ LAA	Jose Soriano (9-6)	#52
Mon, May 18th	@ SEA	Bryan Woo (7-8)	#13
Mon, Jun 1st	@ MIN	Joe Ryan (6-7)	#19
Thu, Jun 18th	@ NYY	Ryan Weathers (4-7)	#71
Mon, Jun 22nd	vs CLE	Gavin Williams (10-6)	#24
Fri, Jul 10th	vs ATH	Jacob Lopez (5-4)	#185
Fri, Jul 17th	@ TOR	Spencer Miles (4-2)	#74
Tue, Jul 21st	@ TEX	Kumar Rocker (4-8)	#79
Thu, Aug 20th	vs ATL	Martin Perez (7-6)	#216
Mon, Aug 31st	@ HOU
Mon, Sep 14th	@ CLE

Who Should I Trade?

Esmerlyn Valdez for Munetaka Murakami (2026)

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