Who Should I Trade?

Esmerlyn Valdez for Ryan Ward (2026)

Summary
Stats
Projections
News & Notes
Schedule

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

Rest of Season	# 169	‐
VBR	# 244	# 1290

Projections

Runs	18	1
Home Runs	7	0
RBI	21	1
Stolen Bases	0	0
Batting Average	.240	.192

Misc

Injury Alert	DTD	MiLB

Expert Ranks

Scott Pianowski Yahoo! Sports	# 120	‐

Chris Welsh FantasyPros	# 99	‐

Kelly Kirby FantasyPros	# 189	‐

Kevin Spinelli KevScores	# 128	# 435

Who Should I Trade? Player Statistics
	Esmerlyn Valdez 1B,LF,RF - PIT	Ryan Ward 1B,LF,RF - LAD
2026 Stats


At Bats	124	55

Runs	26	8

Hits	36	12

Singles	14	5

Doubles	7	4

Triples	1	0

Home Runs	14	3

RBI	36	12

Stolen Bases	0	0

Caught Stealing	1	0

Walks	19	5

Strikeouts	54	17

Batting Average	.290	.218

On Base Pct	.386	.283

Slugging Pct	.702	.455

On-base Plus Slugging	1.088	.738

Who Should I Trade? Player Projections
	Esmerlyn Valdez 1B,LF,RF - PIT	Ryan Ward 1B,LF,RF - LAD
2026 Projections


At Bats	131	8

Runs	18	1

Hits	31	1

Singles	18	1

Doubles	6	0

Triples	0	0

Home Runs	7	0

RBI	21	1

Stolen Bases	0	0

Caught Stealing	0	0

Walks	15	1

Strikeouts	44	2

Batting Average	.240	.192

On Base Pct	.322	.272

Slugging Pct	.446	.299

On-base Plus Slugging	.768	.571

Who Should I Trade? Player Notes
	Esmerlyn Valdez 1B,LF,RF - PIT	Ryan Ward 1B,LF,RF - LAD
News
	The Pirates didn’t provide an update on Esmerlyn Valdez following Monday’s game against the Diamondbacks. Ari Koslow Tue, Jul 28th	The Dodgers optioned Ryan Ward to Triple-A Oklahoma City. Ari Koslow Mon, Jun 29th
	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	Ryan Ward went 1-for-4 in a loss to the Angels with a home run, one run scored, and one RBI. Chase Davis Mon, Jun 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	Ryan Ward went 1-for-2 in win over the Phillies with a home run, a run scored, one RBI and one strikeout. Chase Davis Mon, Jun 1st
	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 Dodgers recalled Ryan Ward from Triple-A Oklahoma City. Ari Koslow Fri, May 29th
	Esmerlyn Valdez went 1-for-4 with a home run in the Pirates 7-1 win in Game 1 of Saturday's doubleheader against the Guardians. Ari Koslow Sun, Jul 19th	The Dodgers are expected to recall Ryan Ward. Ari Koslow Thu, May 28th
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			Ryan Ward 1B,LF,RF - LAD
Thu, Mar 26th	@ NYM	Freddy Peralta (5-9)	#42	vs ARI	Zac Gallen (3-9)	#175
Sat, Mar 28th	@ NYM	David Peterson (6-7)	#90	vs ARI	Eduardo Rodriguez (9-3)	#121
Sun, Mar 29th	@ NYM	Nolan McLean (7-7)	#30
Mon, Mar 30th	@ CIN	Chase Burns (12-1)	#23	vs CLE	Parker Messick (8-6)	#47
Tue, Mar 31st	@ CIN	Brandon Williamson (2-3)	#420	vs CLE	Tanner Bibee (4-10)	#58
Wed, Apr 1st	@ CIN	Andrew Abbott (5-6)	#106	vs CLE	Gavin Williams (10-5)	#24
Fri, Apr 3rd	vs BAL	Kyle Bradish (7-9)	#38	@ WSH	Miles Mikolas (3-7)	#292
Sat, Apr 4th	vs BAL	Shane Baz (4-9)	#76	@ WSH	Jake Irvin (2-4)	#177
Sun, Apr 5th	vs BAL	Chris Bassitt (4-4)	#266	@ WSH	Foster Griffin (12-2)	#53
Mon, Apr 6th	vs SD	German Marquez (4-2)	#370	@ TOR	Max Scherzer (1-4)	#156
Tue, Apr 7th	vs SD	Nick Pivetta (1-2)	#116	@ TOR	Kevin Gausman (4-10)	#28
Wed, Apr 8th	vs SD	Michael King (6-7)	#50	@ TOR	Dylan Cease (7-5)	#10
Fri, Apr 10th	@ CHC	Shota Imanaga (7-8)	#27	vs TEX	Kumar Rocker (4-8)	#92
Sat, Apr 11th	@ CHC	Edward Cabrera (5-4)	#115	vs TEX	Jack Leiter (3-7)	#128
Sun, Apr 12th	@ CHC	Jameson Taillon (2-6)	#114	vs TEX	Jacob deGrom (7-6)	#8
Mon, Apr 13th	vs WSH	Cade Cavalli (7-4)	#54	vs NYM	David Peterson (6-7)	#90
Tue, Apr 14th	vs WSH	PJ Poulin (3-0)	#280	vs NYM	Nolan McLean (7-7)	#30
Wed, Apr 15th	vs WSH	Jake Irvin (2-4)	#177	vs NYM	Clay Holmes (4-4)	#126
Thu, Apr 16th	vs WSH	Foster Griffin (12-2)	#53
Fri, Apr 17th	vs TB	Nick Martinez (10-2)	#94	@ COL	Tomoyuki Sugano (10-4)	#433
Sat, Apr 18th	vs TB	Drew Rasmussen (9-5)	#16	@ COL	Ryan Feltner (3-5)	#431
Sun, Apr 19th	vs TB	Shane McClanahan (9-6)	#41	@ COL	Michael Lorenzen (3-9)	#432
Tue, Apr 21st	@ TEX	Kumar Rocker (4-8)	#92	@ SF	Landen Roupp (7-8)	#61
Wed, Apr 22nd	@ TEX	Jack Leiter (3-7)	#128	@ SF	Tyler Mahle (3-9)	#80
Thu, Apr 23rd	@ TEX	Jacob deGrom (7-6)	#8	@ SF	Logan Webb (5-7)	#19
Fri, Apr 24th	@ MIL	Brandon Woodruff (2-2)		vs CHC	Jameson Taillon (2-6)	#114
Sat, Apr 25th	@ MIL	Jacob Misiorowski (11-4)	#7	vs CHC	Colin Rea (7-7)	#186
Sun, Apr 26th	@ MIL	Kyle Harrison (8-2)	#52	vs CHC	Shota Imanaga (7-8)	#27
Mon, Apr 27th	vs STL	Dustin May (5-7)	#48	vs MIA	Chris Paddack (0-7)
Tue, Apr 28th	vs STL	Kyle Leahy (7-4)	#109	vs MIA	Janson Junk (4-6)	#100
Wed, Apr 29th	vs STL	Andre Pallante (11-6)	#123	vs MIA	Sandy Alcantara (10-6)	#55
Thu, Apr 30th	vs STL	Hunter Dobbins (2-1)	#167
Fri, May 1st	vs CIN	Brady Singer (5-9)	#153	@ STL	Matthew Liberatore (5-8)	#104
Sat, May 2nd	vs CIN	Rhett Lowder (3-7)	#276	@ STL	Michael McGreevy (4-8)	#89
Sun, May 3rd	vs CIN	Chase Burns (12-1)	#23	@ STL	Dustin May (5-7)	#48
Tue, May 5th	@ ARI	Eduardo Rodriguez (9-3)	#121	@ HOU	Peter Lambert (8-5)	#129
Wed, May 6th	@ ARI	Michael Soroka (8-3)	#65	@ HOU	Lance McCullers Jr. (2-3)	#288
Thu, May 7th	@ ARI	Zac Gallen (3-9)	#175
Fri, May 8th	@ SF	Robbie Ray (9-6)	#96	vs ATL	Chris Sale (11-6)	#6
Sat, May 9th	@ SF	Landen Roupp (7-8)	#61	vs ATL	Spencer Strider (4-2)	#309
Sun, May 10th	@ SF	Tyler Mahle (3-9)	#80	vs ATL	Bryce Elder (6-6)	#142
Tue, May 12th	vs COL	Michael Lorenzen (3-9)	#432	vs SF	Adrian Houser (2-7)	#191
Wed, May 13th	vs COL	Jose Quintana (2-3)	#429	vs SF	Robbie Ray (9-6)	#96
Thu, May 14th	vs COL	Chase Dollander (3-3)		vs SF	Landen Roupp (7-8)	#61
Fri, May 15th	vs PHI	Aaron Nola (3-8)	#59	@ LAA	Jack Kochanowicz (2-5)
Sat, May 16th	vs PHI	Cristopher Sanchez (13-4)	#4	@ LAA	Jose Soriano (9-6)	#44
Sun, May 17th	vs PHI	Zack Wheeler (10-2)	#5	@ LAA	Grayson Rodriguez (3-3)	#134
Tue, May 19th	@ STL	Matthew Liberatore (5-8)	#104	@ SD	Griffin Canning (1-9)	#166
Wed, May 20th	@ STL	Michael McGreevy (4-8)	#89	@ SD	Randy Vasquez (6-6)	#241
Thu, May 21st	@ STL	Dustin May (5-7)	#48
Fri, May 22nd	@ TOR	Kevin Gausman (4-10)	#28	@ MIL	Logan Henderson (4-1)	#46
Sat, May 23rd	@ TOR	Patrick Corbin (3-4)	#314	@ MIL	Robert Gasser (3-4)	#120
Sun, May 24th	@ TOR	Dylan Cease (7-5)	#10	@ MIL	Brandon Sproat (3-6)	#144
Mon, May 25th	vs CHC	Ben Brown (4-2)	#105	vs COL	Tanner Gordon (0-2)	#422
Tue, May 26th	vs CHC	Jordan Wicks (0-2)	#224	vs COL	Kyle Freeland (2-10)	#341
Wed, May 27th	vs CHC	Jameson Taillon (2-6)	#114	vs COL	Tomoyuki Sugano (10-4)	#433
Thu, May 28th	vs CHC	Colin Rea (7-7)	#186
Fri, May 29th	vs MIN	Taj Bradley (9-4)	#57	vs PHI	Zack Wheeler (10-2)	#5
Sat, May 30th	vs MIN	Bailey Ober (7-3)	#84	vs PHI	Jesus Luzardo (9-5)	#9
Sun, May 31st	vs MIN	Zebby Matthews (4-8)	#108	vs PHI	Andrew Painter (1-8)	#238
Tue, Jun 2nd	@ HOU	Mike Burrows (4-9)	#178	@ ARI	Michael Soroka (8-3)	#65
Wed, Jun 3rd	@ HOU	Spencer Arrighetti (7-5)	#202	@ ARI	Zac Gallen (3-9)	#175
Thu, Jun 4th	@ HOU	Kai-Wei Teng (5-6)	#255	@ ARI	Ryne Nelson (3-5)	#197
Fri, Jun 5th	@ ATL	Martin Perez (6-6)	#235	vs LAA	Reid Detmers (3-7)	#37
Sat, Jun 6th	@ ATL	Spencer Strider (4-2)	#309	vs LAA	Jack Kochanowicz (2-5)
Sun, Jun 7th	@ ATL	Bryce Elder (6-6)	#142	vs LAA	Jose Soriano (9-6)	#44
Tue, Jun 9th	vs LAD	Eric Lauer (5-5)	#360	@ PIT	Paul Skenes (9-9)	#3
Wed, Jun 10th	vs LAD	Shohei Ohtani (8-2)	#1	@ PIT	Jared Jones (2-1)	#45
Thu, Jun 11th	vs LAD	Justin Wrobleski (11-2)	#68	@ PIT	Mitch Keller (6-7)	#127
Fri, Jun 12th	vs MIA	Sandy Alcantara (10-6)	#55	@ CWS	Anthony Kay (7-4)	#210
Sat, Jun 13th	vs MIA	Lake Bachar (1-2)	#203	@ CWS	Sean Burke (7-5)	#78
Sun, Jun 14th	vs MIA	Max Meyer (9-1)	#81	@ CWS	Bryan Hudson (3-4)	#168
Mon, Jun 15th	@ ATH	J.T. Ginn (8-6)	#139	vs TB	Nick Martinez (10-2)	#94
Tue, Jun 16th	@ ATH	Jack Perkins (2-6)	#101	vs TB	Drew Rasmussen (9-5)	#16
Wed, Jun 17th	@ ATH	Aaron Civale (5-7)	#188	vs TB	Shane McClanahan (9-6)	#41
Fri, Jun 19th	@ COL	Kyle Freeland (2-10)	#341	vs BAL	Trey Gibson (1-3)	#293
Sat, Jun 20th	@ COL	Tomoyuki Sugano (10-4)	#433	vs BAL	Trevor Rogers (6-7)	#75
Sun, Jun 21st	@ COL	Michael Lorenzen (3-9)	#432	vs BAL	Brandon Young (8-2)	#140
Tue, Jun 23rd	vs SEA	George Kirby (8-9)	#20	@ MIN	Kendry Rojas (1-1)	#173
Wed, Jun 24th	vs SEA	Bryan Woo (7-7)	#13	@ MIN	Joe Ryan (6-6)	#15
Thu, Jun 25th	vs SEA	Bryce Miller (4-5)	#40
Fri, Jun 26th	vs CIN	Andrew Abbott (5-6)	#106	@ SD	Walker Buehler (6-5)	#220
Sat, Jun 27th	vs CIN	Chase Burns (12-1)	#23	@ SD	Kyle Hart (0-2)	#228
Sun, Jun 28th	vs CIN	Brady Singer (5-9)	#153	@ SD	Michael King (6-7)	#50
Mon, Jun 29th	@ PHI	Aaron Nola (3-8)	#59	@ ATH	Gage Jump (3-6)	#98
Tue, Jun 30th	@ PHI	Cristopher Sanchez (13-4)	#4	@ ATH	Jeffrey Springs (3-10)	#251
Wed, Jul 1st	@ PHI	Zack Wheeler (10-2)	#5	@ ATH	J.T. Ginn (8-6)	#139
Thu, Jul 2nd	@ PHI	Alan Rangel (0-3)	#308	vs SD	Randy Vasquez (6-6)	#241
Fri, Jul 3rd	@ WSH	Foster Griffin (12-2)	#53	vs SD	Michael King (6-7)	#50
Sat, Jul 4th	@ WSH	Carson Palmquist (0-1)	#331	vs SD	Wandy Peralta (2-2)	#204
Sun, Jul 5th	@ WSH	Cade Cavalli (7-4)	#54	vs SD	JP Sears (3-3)	#158
Tue, Jul 7th	vs ATL	Hurston Waldrep (0-1)	#297	vs COL	Michael Lorenzen (3-9)	#432
Wed, Jul 8th	vs ATL	Grant Holmes (6-4)	#146	vs COL	Gabriel Hughes (0-2)	#236
Thu, Jul 9th	vs ATL	Bryce Elder (6-6)	#142
Sat, Jul 11th	vs MIL	Shane Drohan (5-4)	#74	vs ARI	Brandon Pfaadt (5-1)	#73
Sun, Jul 12th	vs MIL	Robert Gasser (3-4)	#120	vs ARI	Mitch Bratt (0-1)	#192
Sat, Jul 18th	@ CLE	Logan Allen (0-0)	#164
Sun, Jul 19th	@ CLE	Joey Cantillo (8-6)	#77	@ NYY	Ryan Yarbrough (2-0)	#244
Mon, Jul 20th	@ NYY	Ryan Weathers (4-7)	#60	@ PHI	Cristopher Sanchez (13-4)	#4
Wed, Jul 22nd	@ NYY	Max Fried (4-3)	#14	@ PHI	Aaron Nola (3-8)	#59
Fri, Jul 24th	vs CHC	Matthew Boyd (6-1)	#35	@ NYM	Sean Manaea (2-5)	#82
Sat, Jul 25th	vs CHC	Shota Imanaga (7-8)	#27	@ NYM	Nolan McLean (7-7)	#30
Sun, Jul 26th	vs CHC	Jameson Taillon (2-6)	#114	@ NYM	Freddy Peralta (5-9)	#42
Mon, Jul 27th	vs ARI	Merrill Kelly (8-8)	#119
Tue, Jul 28th	vs ARI	Brandon Pfaadt (5-1)	#73	vs SEA	Luis Castillo (3-9)	#62
Wed, Jul 29th	vs ARI	Eduardo Rodriguez (9-3)	#121	vs SEA	Emerson Hancock (6-4)	#86
Thu, Jul 30th	@ CIN	Hunter Greene (2-2)	#22	vs SEA	Bryce Miller (4-5)	#40
Fri, Jul 31st	@ CIN	Andrew Abbott (5-6)	#106	vs BOS	Ranger Suarez (4-3)	#25
Sat, Aug 1st	@ CIN	Chase Burns (12-1)	#23	vs BOS	Payton Tolle (6-6)	#51
Sun, Aug 2nd	@ CIN	Brady Singer (5-9)	#153	vs BOS	Jake Bennett (6-3)	#87
Mon, Aug 3rd	@ MIL	Logan Henderson (4-1)	#46	@ CHC	Matthew Boyd (6-1)	#35
Tue, Aug 4th	@ MIL	Shane Drohan (5-4)	#74	@ CHC
Wed, Aug 5th	@ MIL	Kyle Harrison (8-2)	#52	@ CHC	Jameson Taillon (2-6)	#114
Thu, Aug 6th	@ MIL
Fri, Aug 7th	vs NYM			@ ARI
Sat, Aug 8th	vs NYM			@ ARI
Sun, Aug 9th	vs NYM			@ ARI
Tue, Aug 11th	@ MIA			vs KC
Wed, Aug 12th	@ MIA			vs KC
Thu, Aug 13th	@ MIA			vs MIL
Fri, Aug 14th	vs BOS			vs MIL
Sat, Aug 15th	vs BOS			vs MIL
Sun, Aug 16th	vs BOS			vs MIL
Mon, Aug 17th	vs DET			@ COL
Tue, Aug 18th	vs DET			@ COL
Wed, Aug 19th	vs DET			@ COL
Fri, Aug 21st	@ LAD			vs PIT
Sat, Aug 22nd	@ LAD			vs PIT
Sun, Aug 23rd	@ LAD			vs PIT
Mon, Aug 24th	@ SD
Tue, Aug 25th	@ SD			@ ATL
Wed, Aug 26th	@ SD			@ ATL
Fri, Aug 28th	@ STL			@ DET
Sat, Aug 29th	@ STL			@ DET
Sun, Aug 30th	@ STL			@ DET
Tue, Sep 1st	vs SF			vs STL
Wed, Sep 2nd	vs SF			vs STL
Thu, Sep 3rd	vs SF			vs STL
Fri, Sep 4th	vs LAA			vs WSH
Sat, Sep 5th	vs LAA			vs WSH
Sun, Sep 6th	vs LAA			vs WSH
Tue, Sep 8th	@ CWS			vs CIN
Wed, Sep 9th	@ CWS			vs CIN
Thu, Sep 10th	@ CWS
Fri, Sep 11th	@ CHC			@ MIA
Sat, Sep 12th	@ CHC			@ MIA
Sun, Sep 13th	@ CHC			@ MIA
Tue, Sep 15th	vs MIL			@ CIN
Wed, Sep 16th	vs MIL			@ CIN
Thu, Sep 17th	vs MIL			@ CIN
Fri, Sep 18th	vs KC			vs SF
Sat, Sep 19th	vs KC			vs SF
Sun, Sep 20th	vs KC			vs SF
Tue, Sep 22nd	vs STL			vs SD
Wed, Sep 23rd	vs STL			vs SD
Thu, Sep 24th	vs STL			vs SD
Fri, Sep 25th	@ DET			@ SF
Sat, Sep 26th	@ DET			@ SF
Sun, Sep 27th	@ DET			@ SF
Fri, Mar 27th				vs ARI	Ryne Nelson (3-5)	#197
Mon, Apr 20th				@ COL	Jose Quintana (2-3)	#429
Mon, May 4th				@ HOU	Steven Okert
Mon, May 11th				vs SF	Trevor McDonald (3-7)	#256
Mon, May 18th				@ SD	Michael King (6-7)	#50
Mon, Jun 1st				@ ARI	Eduardo Rodriguez (9-3)	#121
Mon, Jun 22nd				@ MIN	Zebby Matthews (4-8)	#108
Mon, Jul 6th				vs COL	Kyle Freeland (2-10)	#341
Fri, Jul 10th				vs ARI	Eduardo Rodriguez (9-3)	#121
Fri, Jul 17th				@ NYY	Gerrit Cole (3-5)	#26
Tue, Jul 21st				@ PHI	Zack Wheeler (10-2)	#5
Mon, Aug 10th				vs KC
Thu, Aug 27th				@ ATL
Mon, Sep 7th				vs CIN
Mon, Sep 14th				@ CIN

Who Should I Trade?

Esmerlyn Valdez for Ryan Ward (2026)

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