Who Should I Trade?

Esmerlyn Valdez for Rafael Flores (2026)

Summary
Stats
Projections
News & Notes
Schedule

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

Rest of Season	# 167	‐
VBR	# 227	‐

Projections

Runs	17	‐
Home Runs	6	‐
RBI	20	‐
Stolen Bases	0	‐
Batting Average	.239	‐

Misc

Injury Alert	-	IL7

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	Rafael Flores C,1B - PIT
2026 Stats


At Bats	140	15

Runs	27	2

Hits	38	4

Singles	14	2

Doubles	9	1

Triples	1	0

Home Runs	14	1

RBI	37	2

Stolen Bases	0	0

Caught Stealing	1	0

Walks	21	4

Strikeouts	57	2

Batting Average	.271	.267

On Base Pct	.366	.421

Slugging Pct	.650	.533

On-base Plus Slugging	1.016	.954

Who Should I Trade? Player Projections
	Esmerlyn Valdez 1B,LF,RF - PIT	Rafael Flores C,1B - PIT
2026 Projections


At Bats	127	‐

Runs	17	‐

Hits	30	‐

Singles	18	‐

Doubles	6	‐

Triples	0	‐

Home Runs	6	‐

RBI	20	‐

Stolen Bases	0	‐

Caught Stealing	0	‐

Walks	14	‐

Strikeouts	42	‐

Batting Average	.239	‐

On Base Pct	.322	‐

Slugging Pct	.442	‐

On-base Plus Slugging	.765	‐

Who Should I Trade? Player Notes
	Esmerlyn Valdez 1B,LF,RF - PIT	Rafael Flores C,1B - PIT
News
	Esmerlyn Valdez is expected to be in the lineup in Tuesday's game against the Diamondbacks. Ari Koslow Tue, Jul 28th	Rafael Flores resumed baseball activities Wednesday. Ari Koslow 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	Rafael Flores will be going on the 10-day IL with a concussion. Ari Koslow Fri, Jul 24th
	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 Pittsburgh Pirates have recalled Rafael Flores from Triple-A Indianapolis. Diego Sandoval Wed, Jul 8th
	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 Pirates optioned C/1B Rafael Flores Jr. to Triple-A Indianapolis. Ari Koslow Sat, Jun 13th
	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	Rafael Flores went 2-for-3 with a solo home run, a double, two runs scored, and three runs batted in on Thursday in an 8-6 loss to the Dodgers. David Leisering Fri, Jun 12th
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			Rafael Flores C,1B - PIT
Thu, Mar 26th	@ NYM	Freddy Peralta (5-9)	#37	@ NYM	Freddy Peralta (5-9)	#37
Sat, Mar 28th	@ NYM	David Peterson (6-7)	#85	@ NYM	David Peterson (6-7)	#85
Sun, Mar 29th	@ NYM	Nolan McLean (7-7)	#29	@ NYM	Nolan McLean (7-7)	#29
Mon, Mar 30th	@ CIN	Chase Burns (12-1)	#31	@ CIN	Chase Burns (12-1)	#31
Tue, Mar 31st	@ CIN	Brandon Williamson (2-3)	#337	@ CIN	Brandon Williamson (2-3)	#337
Wed, Apr 1st	@ CIN	Andrew Abbott (5-6)	#105	@ CIN	Andrew Abbott (5-6)	#105
Fri, Apr 3rd	vs BAL	Kyle Bradish (7-9)	#49	vs BAL	Kyle Bradish (7-9)	#49
Sat, Apr 4th	vs BAL	Shane Baz (4-9)	#71	vs BAL	Shane Baz (4-9)	#71
Sun, Apr 5th	vs BAL	Chris Bassitt (4-4)	#181	vs BAL	Chris Bassitt (4-4)	#181
Mon, Apr 6th	vs SD	German Marquez (4-2)	#335	vs SD	German Marquez (4-2)	#335
Tue, Apr 7th	vs SD	Nick Pivetta (1-2)	#76	vs SD	Nick Pivetta (1-2)	#76
Wed, Apr 8th	vs SD	Michael King (6-7)	#57	vs SD	Michael King (6-7)	#57
Fri, Apr 10th	@ CHC	Shota Imanaga (7-9)	#26	@ CHC	Shota Imanaga (7-9)	#26
Sat, Apr 11th	@ CHC	Edward Cabrera (5-4)	#75	@ CHC	Edward Cabrera (5-4)	#75
Sun, Apr 12th	@ CHC	Jameson Taillon (2-6)	#213	@ CHC	Jameson Taillon (2-6)	#213
Mon, Apr 13th	vs WSH	Cade Cavalli (8-4)	#55	vs WSH	Cade Cavalli (8-4)	#55
Tue, Apr 14th	vs WSH	PJ Poulin (3-0)	#308	vs WSH	PJ Poulin (3-0)	#308
Wed, Apr 15th	vs WSH	Jake Irvin (2-5)	#168	vs WSH	Jake Irvin (2-5)	#168
Thu, Apr 16th	vs WSH	Foster Griffin (12-3)	#53	vs WSH	Foster Griffin (12-3)	#53
Fri, Apr 17th	vs TB	Nick Martinez (10-3)	#93	vs TB	Nick Martinez (10-3)	#93
Sat, Apr 18th	vs TB	Drew Rasmussen (9-5)	#19	vs TB	Drew Rasmussen (9-5)	#19
Sun, Apr 19th	vs TB	Shane McClanahan (9-6)	#41	vs TB	Shane McClanahan (9-6)	#41
Tue, Apr 21st	@ TEX	Kumar Rocker (4-8)	#80	@ TEX	Kumar Rocker (4-8)	#80
Wed, Apr 22nd	@ TEX	Jack Leiter (3-7)	#124	@ TEX	Jack Leiter (3-7)	#124
Thu, Apr 23rd	@ TEX	Jacob deGrom (7-6)	#8	@ TEX	Jacob deGrom (7-6)	#8
Fri, Apr 24th	@ MIL	Brandon Woodruff (2-2)		@ MIL	Brandon Woodruff (2-2)
Sat, Apr 25th	@ MIL	Jacob Misiorowski (11-4)	#6	@ MIL	Jacob Misiorowski (11-4)	#6
Sun, Apr 26th	@ MIL	Kyle Harrison (8-2)	#47	@ MIL	Kyle Harrison (8-2)	#47
Mon, Apr 27th	vs STL	Dustin May (5-7)	#56	vs STL	Dustin May (5-7)	#56
Tue, Apr 28th	vs STL	Kyle Leahy (7-4)	#103	vs STL	Kyle Leahy (7-4)	#103
Wed, Apr 29th	vs STL	Andre Pallante (11-6)	#110	vs STL	Andre Pallante (11-6)	#110
Thu, Apr 30th	vs STL	Hunter Dobbins (2-1)	#169	vs STL	Hunter Dobbins (2-1)	#169
Fri, May 1st	vs CIN	Brady Singer (5-10)	#148	vs CIN	Brady Singer (5-10)	#148
Sat, May 2nd	vs CIN	Rhett Lowder (3-7)	#290	vs CIN	Rhett Lowder (3-7)	#290
Sun, May 3rd	vs CIN	Chase Burns (12-1)	#31	vs CIN	Chase Burns (12-1)	#31
Tue, May 5th	@ ARI	Eduardo Rodriguez (10-3)	#133	@ ARI	Eduardo Rodriguez (10-3)	#133
Wed, May 6th	@ ARI	Michael Soroka (8-3)	#63	@ ARI	Michael Soroka (8-3)	#63
Thu, May 7th	@ ARI	Zac Gallen (3-9)	#166	@ ARI	Zac Gallen (3-9)	#166
Fri, May 8th	@ SF	Robbie Ray (10-6)	#100	@ SF	Robbie Ray (10-6)	#100
Sat, May 9th	@ SF	Landen Roupp (7-9)	#62	@ SF	Landen Roupp (7-9)	#62
Sun, May 10th	@ SF	Tyler Mahle (3-9)	#81	@ SF	Tyler Mahle (3-9)	#81
Tue, May 12th	vs COL	Michael Lorenzen (3-9)	#433	vs COL	Michael Lorenzen (3-9)	#433
Wed, May 13th	vs COL	Jose Quintana (2-3)	#430	vs COL	Jose Quintana (2-3)	#430
Thu, May 14th	vs COL	Chase Dollander (3-3)		vs COL	Chase Dollander (3-3)
Fri, May 15th	vs PHI	Aaron Nola (3-9)	#59	vs PHI	Aaron Nola (3-9)	#59
Sat, May 16th	vs PHI	Cristopher Sanchez (13-4)	#4	vs PHI	Cristopher Sanchez (13-4)	#4
Sun, May 17th	vs PHI	Zack Wheeler (10-2)	#5	vs PHI	Zack Wheeler (10-2)	#5
Tue, May 19th	@ STL	Matthew Liberatore (5-8)	#125	@ STL	Matthew Liberatore (5-8)	#125
Wed, May 20th	@ STL	Michael McGreevy (4-9)	#98	@ STL	Michael McGreevy (4-9)	#98
Thu, May 21st	@ STL	Dustin May (5-7)	#56	@ STL	Dustin May (5-7)	#56
Fri, May 22nd	@ TOR	Kevin Gausman (4-10)	#27	@ TOR	Kevin Gausman (4-10)	#27
Sat, May 23rd	@ TOR	Patrick Corbin (3-4)	#304	@ TOR	Patrick Corbin (3-4)	#304
Sun, May 24th	@ TOR	Dylan Cease (7-5)	#9	@ TOR	Dylan Cease (7-5)	#9
Mon, May 25th	vs CHC	Ben Brown (4-2)	#91	vs CHC	Ben Brown (4-2)	#91
Tue, May 26th	vs CHC	Jordan Wicks (0-2)	#232	vs CHC	Jordan Wicks (0-2)	#232
Wed, May 27th	vs CHC	Jameson Taillon (2-6)	#213	vs CHC	Jameson Taillon (2-6)	#213
Thu, May 28th	vs CHC	Colin Rea (8-7)	#175	vs CHC	Colin Rea (8-7)	#175
Fri, May 29th	vs MIN	Taj Bradley (9-4)	#51	vs MIN	Taj Bradley (9-4)	#51
Sat, May 30th	vs MIN	Bailey Ober (7-3)	#86	vs MIN	Bailey Ober (7-3)	#86
Sun, May 31st	vs MIN	Zebby Matthews (4-8)	#127	vs MIN	Zebby Matthews (4-8)	#127
Tue, Jun 2nd	@ HOU	Mike Burrows (4-9)	#215	@ HOU	Mike Burrows (4-9)	#215
Wed, Jun 3rd	@ HOU	Spencer Arrighetti (7-5)	#268	@ HOU	Spencer Arrighetti (7-5)	#268
Thu, Jun 4th	@ HOU	Kai-Wei Teng (5-6)	#265	@ HOU	Kai-Wei Teng (5-6)	#265
Fri, Jun 5th	@ ATL	Martin Perez (6-6)	#235	@ ATL	Martin Perez (6-6)	#235
Sat, Jun 6th	@ ATL	Spencer Strider (4-2)	#296	@ ATL	Spencer Strider (4-2)	#296
Sun, Jun 7th	@ ATL	Bryce Elder (7-6)	#132	@ ATL	Bryce Elder (7-6)	#132
Tue, Jun 9th	vs LAD	Eric Lauer (6-5)	#338	vs LAD	Eric Lauer (6-5)	#338
Wed, Jun 10th	vs LAD	Shohei Ohtani (8-2)	#1	vs LAD	Shohei Ohtani (8-2)	#1
Thu, Jun 11th	vs LAD	Justin Wrobleski (11-2)	#79	vs LAD	Justin Wrobleski (11-2)	#79
Fri, Jun 12th	vs MIA	Sandy Alcantara (11-6)	#61	vs MIA	Sandy Alcantara (11-6)	#61
Sat, Jun 13th	vs MIA	Lake Bachar (1-2)	#190	vs MIA	Lake Bachar (1-2)	#190
Sun, Jun 14th	vs MIA	Max Meyer (9-1)	#78	vs MIA	Max Meyer (9-1)	#78
Mon, Jun 15th	@ ATH	J.T. Ginn (8-6)	#161	@ ATH	J.T. Ginn (8-6)	#161
Tue, Jun 16th	@ ATH	Jack Perkins (2-6)	#102	@ ATH	Jack Perkins (2-6)	#102
Wed, Jun 17th	@ ATH	Aaron Civale (5-7)	#192	@ ATH	Aaron Civale (5-7)	#192
Fri, Jun 19th	@ COL	Kyle Freeland (2-10)	#362	@ COL	Kyle Freeland (2-10)	#362
Sat, Jun 20th	@ COL	Tomoyuki Sugano (11-4)	#434	@ COL	Tomoyuki Sugano (11-4)	#434
Sun, Jun 21st	@ COL	Michael Lorenzen (3-9)	#433	@ COL	Michael Lorenzen (3-9)	#433
Tue, Jun 23rd	vs SEA	George Kirby (8-9)	#21	vs SEA	George Kirby (8-9)	#21
Wed, Jun 24th	vs SEA	Bryan Woo (7-8)	#13	vs SEA	Bryan Woo (7-8)	#13
Thu, Jun 25th	vs SEA	Bryce Miller (4-5)	#36	vs SEA	Bryce Miller (4-5)	#36
Fri, Jun 26th	vs CIN	Andrew Abbott (5-6)	#105	vs CIN	Andrew Abbott (5-6)	#105
Sat, Jun 27th	vs CIN	Chase Burns (12-1)	#31	vs CIN	Chase Burns (12-1)	#31
Sun, Jun 28th	vs CIN	Brady Singer (5-10)	#148	vs CIN	Brady Singer (5-10)	#148
Mon, Jun 29th	@ PHI	Aaron Nola (3-9)	#59	@ PHI	Aaron Nola (3-9)	#59
Tue, Jun 30th	@ PHI	Cristopher Sanchez (13-4)	#4	@ PHI	Cristopher Sanchez (13-4)	#4
Wed, Jul 1st	@ PHI	Zack Wheeler (10-2)	#5	@ PHI	Zack Wheeler (10-2)	#5
Thu, Jul 2nd	@ PHI	Alan Rangel (0-3)	#293	@ PHI	Alan Rangel (0-3)	#293
Fri, Jul 3rd	@ WSH	Foster Griffin (12-3)	#53	@ WSH	Foster Griffin (12-3)	#53
Sat, Jul 4th	@ WSH	Carson Palmquist (0-1)	#301	@ WSH	Carson Palmquist (0-1)	#301
Sun, Jul 5th	@ WSH	Cade Cavalli (8-4)	#55	@ WSH	Cade Cavalli (8-4)	#55
Tue, Jul 7th	vs ATL	Hurston Waldrep (0-1)	#312	vs ATL	Hurston Waldrep (0-1)	#312
Wed, Jul 8th	vs ATL	Grant Holmes (6-4)	#142	vs ATL	Grant Holmes (6-4)	#142
Thu, Jul 9th	vs ATL	Bryce Elder (7-6)	#132	vs ATL	Bryce Elder (7-6)	#132
Sat, Jul 11th	vs MIL	Shane Drohan (6-4)	#72	vs MIL	Shane Drohan (6-4)	#72
Sun, Jul 12th	vs MIL	Robert Gasser (3-4)	#115	vs MIL	Robert Gasser (3-4)	#115
Sat, Jul 18th	@ CLE	Logan Allen (0-0)	#160	@ CLE	Logan Allen (0-0)	#160
Sun, Jul 19th	@ CLE	Joey Cantillo (8-6)	#89	@ CLE	Joey Cantillo (8-6)	#89
Mon, Jul 20th	@ NYY	Ryan Weathers (4-7)	#69	@ NYY	Ryan Weathers (4-7)	#69
Wed, Jul 22nd	@ NYY	Max Fried (4-3)	#16	@ NYY	Max Fried (4-3)	#16
Fri, Jul 24th	vs CHC	Matthew Boyd (6-1)	#39	vs CHC	Matthew Boyd (6-1)	#39
Sat, Jul 25th	vs CHC	Shota Imanaga (7-9)	#26	vs CHC	Shota Imanaga (7-9)	#26
Sun, Jul 26th	vs CHC	Jameson Taillon (2-6)	#213	vs CHC	Jameson Taillon (2-6)	#213
Mon, Jul 27th	vs ARI	Merrill Kelly (8-8)	#122	vs ARI	Merrill Kelly (8-8)	#122
Tue, Jul 28th	vs ARI	Brandon Pfaadt (5-1)	#83	vs ARI	Brandon Pfaadt (5-1)	#83
Wed, Jul 29th	vs ARI	Eduardo Rodriguez (10-3)	#133	vs ARI	Eduardo Rodriguez (10-3)	#133
Thu, Jul 30th	@ CIN	Rhett Lowder (3-7)	#290	@ CIN	Rhett Lowder (3-7)	#290
Fri, Jul 31st	@ CIN	Hunter Greene (2-2)	#28	@ CIN	Hunter Greene (2-2)	#28
Sat, Aug 1st	@ CIN	Andrew Abbott (5-6)	#105	@ CIN	Andrew Abbott (5-6)	#105
Sun, Aug 2nd	@ CIN	Chase Burns (12-1)	#31	@ CIN	Chase Burns (12-1)	#31
Mon, Aug 3rd	@ MIL	Brandon Sproat (3-6)	#151	@ MIL	Brandon Sproat (3-6)	#151
Tue, Aug 4th	@ MIL	Logan Henderson (5-1)	#40	@ MIL	Logan Henderson (5-1)	#40
Wed, Aug 5th	@ MIL	Shane Drohan (6-4)	#72	@ MIL	Shane Drohan (6-4)	#72
Thu, Aug 6th	@ MIL	Robert Gasser (3-4)	#115	@ MIL	Robert Gasser (3-4)	#115
Fri, Aug 7th	vs NYM	Freddy Peralta (5-9)	#37	vs NYM	Freddy Peralta (5-9)	#37
Sat, Aug 8th	vs NYM	Clay Holmes (4-4)	#116	vs NYM	Clay Holmes (4-4)	#116
Sun, Aug 9th	vs NYM	Christian Scott (3-3)	#50	vs NYM	Christian Scott (3-3)	#50
Tue, Aug 11th	@ MIA			@ MIA
Wed, Aug 12th	@ MIA			@ MIA
Thu, Aug 13th	@ MIA			@ MIA
Fri, Aug 14th	vs BOS			vs BOS
Sat, Aug 15th	vs BOS			vs BOS
Sun, Aug 16th	vs BOS			vs BOS
Mon, Aug 17th	vs DET			vs DET
Tue, Aug 18th	vs DET			vs DET
Wed, Aug 19th	vs DET			vs DET
Fri, Aug 21st	@ LAD			@ LAD
Sat, Aug 22nd	@ LAD			@ LAD
Sun, Aug 23rd	@ LAD			@ LAD
Mon, Aug 24th	@ SD			@ SD
Tue, Aug 25th	@ SD			@ SD
Wed, Aug 26th	@ SD			@ SD
Fri, Aug 28th	@ STL			@ STL
Sat, Aug 29th	@ STL			@ STL
Sun, Aug 30th	@ STL			@ STL
Tue, Sep 1st	vs SF			vs SF
Wed, Sep 2nd	vs SF			vs SF
Thu, Sep 3rd	vs SF			vs SF
Fri, Sep 4th	vs LAA			vs LAA
Sat, Sep 5th	vs LAA			vs LAA
Sun, Sep 6th	vs LAA			vs LAA
Tue, Sep 8th	@ CWS			@ CWS
Wed, Sep 9th	@ CWS			@ CWS
Thu, Sep 10th	@ CWS			@ CWS
Fri, Sep 11th	@ CHC			@ CHC
Sat, Sep 12th	@ CHC			@ CHC
Sun, Sep 13th	@ CHC			@ CHC
Tue, Sep 15th	vs MIL			vs MIL
Wed, Sep 16th	vs MIL			vs MIL
Thu, Sep 17th	vs MIL			vs MIL
Fri, Sep 18th	vs KC			vs KC
Sat, Sep 19th	vs KC			vs KC
Sun, Sep 20th	vs KC			vs KC
Tue, Sep 22nd	vs STL			vs STL
Wed, Sep 23rd	vs STL			vs STL
Thu, Sep 24th	vs STL			vs STL
Fri, Sep 25th	@ DET			@ DET
Sat, Sep 26th	@ DET			@ DET
Sun, Sep 27th	@ DET			@ DET

Who Should I Trade?

Esmerlyn Valdez for Rafael Flores (2026)

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