Who Should I Trade?

Hunter Barco for Nick Mears (2026)

Summary
Stats
Projections
News & Notes
Schedule

Who Should I Trade? Player Summaries
	Experts' Pick
	Nick Mears RP - KC	Hunter Barco SP,RP - PIT
Expert Recommendation	100% Recommended by 2 of 2 experts	0% Recommended by 0 of 2 experts
Rankings

Rest of Season	# 387	‐
VBR	# 914	# 976

Projections

Strikeouts	2	6
Wins	0	0
Saves	0	0
ERA	4.67	4.55
WHIP	1.47	1.51

Misc

Injury Alert	IL60	MiLB

Expert Ranks

Kelly Kirby FantasyPros	# 395	# 403

Kevin Spinelli KevScores	# 429	‐

Who Should I Trade? Player Statistics
	Nick Mears RP - KC	Hunter Barco SP,RP - PIT
2026 Stats


Games Played	21	7

Games Started	0	0

Innings Pitched	19.1	17.2

Wins	2	0

Losses	3	1

Saves	0	0

Blown Saves	2	1

Holds	5	1

Hits Allowed	18	21

Earned Runs	11	15

Home Runs Allowed	2	4

Strikeouts	15	14

Walks	11	13

ERA	5.12	7.64

WHIP	1.50	1.92

Who Should I Trade? Player Projections
	Nick Mears RP - KC	Hunter Barco SP,RP - PIT
2026 Projections


Games Played	2	6

Games Started	0	1

Innings Pitched	1.6	7.0

Wins	0	0

Losses	0	0

Saves	0	0

Blown Saves	0	0

Holds	0	0

Hits Allowed	2	7

Earned Runs	1	4

Home Runs Allowed	0	1

Strikeouts	2	6

Walks	1	3

ERA	4.67	4.55

WHIP	1.47	1.51

Who Should I Trade? Player Notes
	Nick Mears RP - KC	Hunter Barco SP,RP - PIT
News
	Nick Mears will undergo season-ending surgery. Ari Koslow Tue, Sep 1st	The Pirates optioned LHP Hunter Barco to Triple-A Indianapolis. Ari Koslow Mon, Aug 17th
	Nick Mears suffered another setback in his recovery. Ari Koslow Wed, Aug 19th	The Pirates recalled LHP Hunter Barco from Triple-A Indianapolis. Ari Koslow Sun, Aug 16th
	Nick Mears is scheduled to begin a mound progression next week. Ari Koslow Fri, Aug 7th	The Pirates recalled LHP Hunter Barco from Triple-A Indianapolis. Ari Koslow Wed, Jul 29th
	Nick Mears resumed throwing on Monday. Ari Koslow Fri, Jul 31st	Hunter Barco is scheduled to visit team doctors with the Pirates on Monday. Ari Koslow Sun, Jun 21st
	The Kansas City Royals transferred Nick Mears to the 60-day injured list. Nicholas Rodriguez Wed, Jul 15th	The Pirates recalled Hunter Barco from Triple-A. Ari Koslow Tue, Apr 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
	Nick Mears RP - KC			Hunter Barco SP,RP - PIT
Thu, Mar 26th				@ NYM	Freddy Peralta (7-11)	#51
Sat, Mar 28th	@ ATL	Reynaldo Lopez (4-3)	#83	@ NYM	David Peterson (7-8)	#109
Sun, Mar 29th	@ ATL	Grant Holmes (9-5)	#155	@ NYM	Nolan McLean (11-8)	#35
Mon, Mar 30th	vs MIN	Simeon Woods Richardson (2-7)		@ CIN	Chase Burns (15-3)	#34
Tue, Mar 31st				@ CIN	Brandon Williamson (3-4)	#369
Wed, Apr 1st	vs MIN	Joe Ryan (6-9)	#29	@ CIN	Andrew Abbott (6-10)	#130
Fri, Apr 3rd				vs BAL	Kyle Bradish (7-13)	#54
Sat, Apr 4th	vs MIL	Logan Henderson (9-3)	#25	vs BAL	Shane Baz (5-15)	#75
Sun, Apr 5th	vs MIL	Kyle Harrison (10-4)	#63	vs BAL	Chris Bassitt (6-5)	#141
Mon, Apr 6th	@ CLE	Tanner Bibee (5-15)	#64	vs SD	German Marquez (4-2)	#365
Tue, Apr 7th	@ CLE	Gavin Williams (13-7)	#20	vs SD	Nick Pivetta (2-2)	#42
Wed, Apr 8th	@ CLE	Joey Cantillo (9-9)	#72	vs SD	Michael King (10-9)	#58
Fri, Apr 10th	vs CWS	Davis Martin (9-6)	#99	@ CHC	Shota Imanaga (9-10)	#33
Sat, Apr 11th	vs CWS	Erick Fedde (8-8)	#399	@ CHC	Edward Cabrera (5-5)	#194
Sun, Apr 12th	vs CWS	Grant Taylor (7-2)	#26	@ CHC	Jameson Taillon (2-6)
Mon, Apr 13th				vs WSH	Cade Cavalli (12-5)	#37
Tue, Apr 14th	@ DET	Framber Valdez (9-10)	#44	vs WSH	PJ Poulin (3-0)
Wed, Apr 15th	@ DET	Jack Flaherty (3-8)	#97	vs WSH	Jake Irvin (2-9)	#156
Thu, Apr 16th	@ DET	Keider Montero (9-8)	#116	vs WSH	Foster Griffin (15-4)	#56
Fri, Apr 17th	@ NYY	Cam Schlittler (12-6)	#18	vs TB	Nick Martinez (14-4)	#84
Sat, Apr 18th	@ NYY	Will Warren (9-6)	#80	vs TB	Drew Rasmussen (14-5)	#19
Sun, Apr 19th	@ NYY	Ryan Weathers (5-8)	#177	vs TB	Shane McClanahan (10-7)	#152
Tue, Apr 21st	vs BAL	Shane Baz (5-15)	#75	@ TEX	Kumar Rocker (5-11)	#119
Wed, Apr 22nd	vs BAL	Chris Bassitt (6-5)	#141	@ TEX	Jack Leiter (3-7)	#189
Thu, Apr 23rd				@ TEX	Jacob deGrom (10-9)	#12
Fri, Apr 24th	vs LAA	Yusei Kikuchi (1-5)	#81	@ MIL	Brandon Woodruff (2-2)
Sat, Apr 25th	vs LAA	Walbert Urena (9-10)	#168	@ MIL	Jacob Misiorowski (14-5)	#13
Sun, Apr 26th	vs LAA	Reid Detmers (4-8)	#22	@ MIL	Kyle Harrison (10-4)	#63
Mon, Apr 27th				vs STL	Dustin May (6-9)	#57
Tue, Apr 28th	@ ATH	Aaron Civale (6-7)	#174	vs STL	Kyle Leahy (10-4)	#90
Wed, Apr 29th	@ ATH	Luis Severino (2-6)		vs STL	Andre Pallante (12-6)	#122
Thu, Apr 30th	@ ATH	Jeffrey Springs (4-13)	#245	vs STL	Hunter Dobbins (3-3)
Fri, May 1st	@ SEA	Bryan Woo (11-9)	#14	vs CIN	Brady Singer (6-13)	#157
Sat, May 2nd	@ SEA	Emerson Hancock (7-8)	#199	vs CIN	Rhett Lowder (6-9)	#228
Sun, May 3rd	@ SEA	Luis Castillo (4-11)	#98	vs CIN	Chase Burns (15-3)	#34
Tue, May 5th	vs CLE	Gavin Williams (13-7)	#20	@ ARI	Eduardo Rodriguez (15-5)	#120
Wed, May 6th	vs CLE	Joey Cantillo (9-9)	#72	@ ARI	Michael Soroka (8-4)	#93
Thu, May 7th	vs CLE	Slade Cecconi (4-7)	#180	@ ARI	Zac Gallen (3-9)	#138
Fri, May 8th	vs DET	Keider Montero (9-8)	#116	@ SF	Robbie Ray (11-8)	#106
Sat, May 9th	vs DET	Burch Smith		@ SF	Landen Roupp (8-13)	#87
Sun, May 10th	vs DET	Brenan Hanifee		@ SF	Tyler Mahle (5-10)	#70
Tue, May 12th	@ CWS	Erick Fedde (8-8)	#399	vs COL	Michael Lorenzen (3-11)	#131
Wed, May 13th	@ CWS	Noah Schultz (3-9)	#309	vs COL	Jose Quintana (2-3)	#407
Thu, May 14th	@ CWS	Anthony Kay (9-8)	#147	vs COL	Chase Dollander (3-3)
Fri, May 15th	@ STL	Dustin May (6-9)	#57	vs PHI	Aaron Nola (6-10)	#62
Sat, May 16th	@ STL	Kyle Leahy (10-4)	#90	vs PHI	Cristopher Sanchez (16-5)	#4
Sun, May 17th	@ STL	Andre Pallante (12-6)	#122	vs PHI	Zack Wheeler (12-5)	#7
Tue, May 19th	vs BOS	Ranger Suarez (6-4)	#36	@ STL	Matthew Liberatore (5-14)	#79
Wed, May 20th	vs BOS	Connelly Early (7-5)	#183	@ STL	Michael McGreevy (6-9)	#107
Thu, May 21st				@ STL	Dustin May (6-9)	#57
Fri, May 22nd	vs SEA	Logan Gilbert (11-9)	#16	@ TOR	Kevin Gausman (9-11)	#23
Sat, May 23rd	vs SEA	George Kirby (9-11)	#24	@ TOR	Patrick Corbin (3-4)
Sun, May 24th	vs SEA	Bryan Woo (11-9)	#14	@ TOR	Dylan Cease (10-5)	#6
Mon, May 25th	vs NYY	Will Warren (9-6)	#80	vs CHC	Ben Brown (4-2)
Tue, May 26th	vs NYY	Cam Schlittler (12-6)	#18	vs CHC	Jordan Wicks (0-2)	#305
Wed, May 27th	vs NYY	Gerrit Cole (8-8)	#17	vs CHC	Jameson Taillon (2-6)
Thu, May 28th				vs CHC	Colin Rea (8-8)	#211
Fri, May 29th	@ TEX	MacKenzie Gore (8-10)	#48	vs MIN	Taj Bradley (11-6)	#41
Sat, May 30th	@ TEX	Kumar Rocker (5-11)	#119	vs MIN	Bailey Ober (7-5)	#88
Sun, May 31st	@ TEX	Jack Leiter (3-7)	#189	vs MIN	Zebby Matthews (9-9)	#92
Tue, Jun 2nd	@ CIN	Andrew Abbott (6-10)	#130	@ HOU	Mike Burrows (4-9)	#287
Wed, Jun 3rd	@ CIN	Chase Burns (15-3)	#34	@ HOU	Spencer Arrighetti (7-9)	#150
Thu, Jun 4th	@ MIN	Andrew Morris (4-7)	#170	@ HOU	Kai-Wei Teng (5-7)	#341
Fri, Jun 5th	@ MIN	Zebby Matthews (9-9)	#92	@ ATL	Martin Perez (8-9)	#181
Sat, Jun 6th	@ MIN	Joe Ryan (6-9)	#29	@ ATL	Spencer Strider (4-2)
Sun, Jun 7th	@ MIN	Connor Prielipp (4-7)	#73	@ ATL	Bryce Elder (8-8)	#144
Tue, Jun 9th	vs TEX	Nathan Eovaldi (10-9)	#162	vs LAD	Eric Lauer (8-7)	#334
Wed, Jun 10th	vs TEX	MacKenzie Gore (8-10)	#48	vs LAD	Shohei Ohtani (8-2)	#1
Thu, Jun 11th	vs TEX	Kumar Rocker (5-11)	#119	vs LAD	Justin Wrobleski (11-5)	#103
Fri, Jun 12th	vs HOU	Tatsuya Imai (6-4)	#118	vs MIA	Sandy Alcantara (13-9)	#71
Sat, Jun 13th	vs HOU	Mike Burrows (4-9)	#287	vs MIA	Lake Bachar (1-3)	#328
Sun, Jun 14th	vs HOU	Spencer Arrighetti (7-9)	#150	vs MIA	Max Meyer (9-1)
Mon, Jun 15th	@ WSH	Andrew Alvarez (2-6)	#124	@ ATH	J.T. Ginn (9-8)	#254
Tue, Jun 16th	@ WSH	Foster Griffin (15-4)	#56	@ ATH	Jack Perkins (3-10)	#129
Wed, Jun 17th	@ WSH	Zack Littell (8-8)	#317	@ ATH	Aaron Civale (6-7)	#174
Fri, Jun 19th	vs STL	Michael McGreevy (6-9)	#107	@ COL	Kyle Freeland (4-10)	#381
Sat, Jun 20th				@ COL	Tomoyuki Sugano (12-8)	#411
Sun, Jun 21st	vs STL	Dustin May (6-9)	#57	@ COL	Michael Lorenzen (3-11)	#131
Tue, Jun 23rd	@ TB	Shane McClanahan (10-7)	#152	vs SEA	George Kirby (9-11)	#24
Wed, Jun 24th	@ TB	Griffin Jax (6-10)	#30	vs SEA	Bryan Woo (11-9)	#14
Thu, Jun 25th	@ TB	Casey Legumina (2-2)	#209	vs SEA	Bryce Miller (4-8)	#50
Fri, Jun 26th	@ CWS	David Sandlin (2-1)	#362	vs CIN	Andrew Abbott (6-10)	#130
Sat, Jun 27th	@ CWS	Davis Martin (9-6)	#99	vs CIN	Chase Burns (15-3)	#34
Sun, Jun 28th	@ CWS	Anthony Kay (9-8)	#147	vs CIN	Brady Singer (6-13)	#157
Mon, Jun 29th				@ PHI	Aaron Nola (6-10)	#62
Tue, Jun 30th	vs TB	Griffin Jax (6-10)	#30	@ PHI	Cristopher Sanchez (16-5)	#4
Wed, Jul 1st	vs TB	Shane McClanahan (10-7)	#152	@ PHI	Zack Wheeler (12-5)	#7
Thu, Jul 2nd	vs TB	Ian Seymour (9-6)	#43	@ PHI	Alan Rangel (0-3)	#376
Fri, Jul 3rd				@ WSH	Foster Griffin (15-4)	#56
Sat, Jul 4th	vs PHI	Jesus Luzardo (14-5)	#8	@ WSH	Carson Palmquist (0-2)	#342
Sun, Jul 5th	vs PHI	Aaron Nola (6-10)	#62	@ WSH	Cade Cavalli (12-5)	#37
Tue, Jul 7th	@ NYM	Cionel Perez		vs ATL	Hurston Waldrep (0-1)
Wed, Jul 8th	@ NYM	Christian Scott (4-4)	#39	vs ATL	Grant Holmes (9-5)	#155
Thu, Jul 9th	@ NYM	Sean Manaea (4-7)	#69	vs ATL	Bryce Elder (8-8)	#144
Sat, Jul 11th	@ BAL	Kyle Bradish (7-13)	#54	vs MIL	Shane Drohan (7-5)	#95
Sun, Jul 12th	@ BAL	Shane Baz (5-15)	#75	vs MIL	Robert Gasser (4-5)	#85
Sat, Jul 18th	vs SD	Griffin Canning (4-9)	#182	@ CLE	Logan Allen (0-0)	#230
Sun, Jul 19th	vs SD	German Marquez (4-2)	#365	@ CLE	Joey Cantillo (9-9)	#72
Mon, Jul 20th	vs SF	Trevor McDonald (3-7)		@ NYY	Ryan Weathers (5-8)	#177
Wed, Jul 22nd	vs SF	Landen Roupp (8-13)	#87	@ NYY	Max Fried (4-4)	#15
Fri, Jul 24th	@ DET	Tarik Skubal (8-7)	#2	vs CHC	Matthew Boyd (8-4)	#59
Sat, Jul 25th	@ DET	Casey Mize (5-9)	#52	vs CHC	Shota Imanaga (9-10)	#33
Sun, Jul 26th	@ DET	Framber Valdez (9-10)	#44	vs CHC	Jameson Taillon (2-6)
Mon, Jul 27th				vs ARI	Merrill Kelly (9-13)	#158
Tue, Jul 28th	@ MIN	Taj Bradley (11-6)	#41	vs ARI	Brandon Pfaadt (7-2)	#96
Wed, Jul 29th	@ MIN	Joe Ryan (6-9)	#29	vs ARI	Eduardo Rodriguez (15-5)	#120
Thu, Jul 30th	@ MIN	Bailey Ober (7-5)	#88	@ CIN	Rhett Lowder (6-9)	#228
Fri, Jul 31st	@ COL	Tomoyuki Sugano (12-8)	#411	@ CIN	Hunter Greene (2-2)
Sat, Aug 1st	@ COL	Ryan Feltner (5-9)	#410	@ CIN	Andrew Abbott (6-10)	#130
Sun, Aug 2nd	@ COL	Kyle Freeland (4-10)	#381	@ CIN	Chase Burns (15-3)	#34
Mon, Aug 3rd				@ MIL	Brandon Sproat (3-7)	#206
Tue, Aug 4th	vs MIN	Joe Ryan (6-9)	#29	@ MIL	Logan Henderson (9-3)	#25
Wed, Aug 5th	vs MIN	Dean Kremer (2-5)	#82	@ MIL	Kyle Harrison (10-4)	#63
Thu, Aug 6th	vs MIN	Bailey Ober (7-5)	#88	@ MIL	Dustin May (6-9)	#57
Fri, Aug 7th	vs CHC	Kevin Gausman (9-11)	#23	vs NYM	Zac Thornton (3-5)	#125
Sat, Aug 8th	vs CHC	Clay Holmes (6-7)	#68	vs NYM	Robert Stock (1-3)	#160
Sun, Aug 9th	vs CHC	Matthew Boyd (8-4)	#59	vs NYM	Sean Manaea (4-7)	#69
Tue, Aug 11th	@ LAD	Blake Snell (3-1)	#10	@ MIA	Eury Perez (7-11)	#45
Wed, Aug 12th	@ LAD	Eric Lauer (8-7)	#334	@ MIA	Janson Junk (6-9)	#100
Thu, Aug 13th				@ MIA	Tyler Phillips (5-6)	#184
Fri, Aug 14th	@ LAA	Grayson Rodriguez (4-7)	#102	vs BOS	Jake Bennett (9-6)	#74
Sat, Aug 15th	@ LAA	Reid Detmers (4-8)	#22	vs BOS	Sonny Gray (17-4)	#38
Sun, Aug 16th	@ LAA	Ryan Johnson (3-8)	#169	vs BOS	Patrick Sandoval (1-4)	#101
Mon, Aug 17th	vs ATH	Mason Barnett (1-4)	#405	vs DET	Framber Valdez (9-10)	#44
Tue, Aug 18th	vs ATH	Brady Basso (1-2)	#244	vs DET	Keider Montero (9-8)	#116
Wed, Aug 19th	vs ATH	Jeffrey Springs (4-13)	#245	vs DET	Jackson Jobe (1-2)	#149
Fri, Aug 21st	vs DET	Troy Melton (8-4)	#61	@ LAD	Yoshinobu Yamamoto (12-8)	#5
Sat, Aug 22nd	vs DET	Drew Anderson (4-5)	#66	@ LAD	Tarik Skubal (8-7)	#2
Sun, Aug 23rd	vs DET	Jacob Waguespack		@ LAD	Blake Snell (3-1)	#10
Mon, Aug 24th				@ SD	Robbie Ray (11-8)	#106
Tue, Aug 25th	@ TOR	Max Scherzer (2-7)	#111	@ SD	Michael King (10-9)	#58
Wed, Aug 26th	@ TOR	Spencer Miles (6-2)	#143	@ SD	Randy Vasquez (10-6)	#205
Fri, Aug 28th	@ CLE	Tanner Bibee (5-15)	#64	@ STL	Quinn Mathews (1-2)	#140
Sat, Aug 29th	@ CLE	Foster Griffin (15-4)	#56	@ STL	Kyle Leahy (10-4)	#90
Sun, Aug 30th	@ CLE	Parker Messick (11-9)	#32	@ STL	Matthew Liberatore (5-14)	#79
Tue, Sep 1st	vs MIA	Tyler Phillips (5-6)	#184	vs SF	Logan Webb (8-8)	#21
Wed, Sep 2nd	vs MIA	Eury Perez (7-11)	#45	vs SF	Landen Roupp (8-13)	#87
Thu, Sep 3rd	vs MIA	Sandy Alcantara (13-9)	#71	vs SF	Blade Tidwell (0-2)	#164
Fri, Sep 4th	vs TOR	Jameson Taillon (2-6)		vs LAA	Ryan Johnson (3-8)	#169
Sat, Sep 5th	vs TOR	Max Scherzer (2-7)	#111	vs LAA	Yusei Kikuchi (1-5)	#81
Sun, Sep 6th	vs TOR	Spencer Arrighetti (7-9)	#150	vs LAA	Walbert Urena (9-10)	#168
Tue, Sep 8th	vs ARI	Corbin Burnes	#67	@ CWS	Sean Burke (8-6)	#65
Wed, Sep 9th	vs ARI	Merrill Kelly (9-13)	#158	@ CWS	Davis Martin (9-6)	#99
Thu, Sep 10th				@ CWS	Luis Castillo (4-11)	#98
Fri, Sep 11th	@ BOS	Ranger Suarez (6-4)	#36	@ CHC	Shota Imanaga (9-10)	#33
Sat, Sep 12th	@ BOS	Sonny Gray (17-4)	#38	@ CHC	Clay Holmes (6-7)	#68
Sun, Sep 13th	@ BOS	Payton Tolle (9-6)	#31	@ CHC	Matthew Boyd (8-4)	#59
Tue, Sep 15th	@ HOU			vs MIL	Robert Gasser (4-5)	#85
Wed, Sep 16th	@ HOU	Cristian Javier (2-5)	#136	vs MIL	Jacob Misiorowski (14-5)	#13
Thu, Sep 17th	@ HOU	Ethan Pecko (1-0)	#142	vs MIL	Dustin May (6-9)	#57
Fri, Sep 18th	@ PIT			vs KC
Sat, Sep 19th	@ PIT			vs KC
Sun, Sep 20th	@ PIT			vs KC
Tue, Sep 22nd	vs CWS			vs STL
Wed, Sep 23rd	vs CWS			vs STL
Thu, Sep 24th	vs CWS			vs STL
Fri, Sep 25th	vs CLE			@ DET
Sat, Sep 26th	vs CLE			@ DET
Sun, Sep 27th	vs CLE			@ DET
Fri, Mar 27th	@ ATL	Chris Sale (14-9)	#3
Thu, Apr 2nd	vs MIN	Taj Bradley (11-6)	#41
Thu, Apr 9th	vs CWS	Anthony Kay (9-8)	#147
Mon, Apr 20th	vs BAL	Kyle Bradish (7-13)	#54
Mon, May 4th	vs CLE	Tanner Bibee (5-15)	#64
Mon, May 18th	vs BOS	Sonny Gray (17-4)	#38
Mon, Jun 1st	@ CIN	Lyon Richardson
Thu, Jun 18th	vs STL	Matthew Liberatore (5-14)	#79
Mon, Jun 22nd	@ TB	Drew Rasmussen (14-5)	#19
Mon, Jul 6th	vs PHI	Cristopher Sanchez (16-5)	#4
Fri, Jul 10th	@ BAL	Brandon Young (9-3)	#123
Fri, Jul 17th	vs SD	Michael King (10-9)	#58
Tue, Jul 21st	vs SF	Tyler Mahle (5-10)	#70
Thu, Jul 23rd	@ DET	Troy Melton (8-4)	#61
Mon, Aug 10th	@ LAD	Tarik Skubal (8-7)	#2
Thu, Aug 20th	vs ATH	Gage Jump (6-10)	#114
Thu, Aug 27th	@ TOR	Spencer Arrighetti (7-9)	#150
Mon, Sep 7th	vs ARI	Derek Law

Who Should I Trade?

Hunter Barco for Nick Mears (2026)

ExpertRecommendation

Expert
Recommendation