Who Should I Trade?

Mason Black for Yusei Kikuchi (2026)

Summary
Stats
Projections
News & Notes
Schedule

Who Should I Trade? Player Summaries
	Experts' Pick
	Yusei Kikuchi SP - LAA	Mason Black SP,RP - KC
Expert Recommendation	100% Recommended by 4 of 4 experts	0% Recommended by 0 of 4 experts
Rankings

Rest of Season	# 170	‐
VBR	# 421	# 936

Projections

Strikeouts	37	11
Wins	2	1
Saves	0	0
ERA	4.36	4.99
WHIP	1.38	1.50

Misc

Injury Alert	IL60	MiLB

Expert Ranks

Scott Pianowski Yahoo! Sports	# 160	‐

Mike Maher BettingPros	# 154	‐

Kelly Kirby FantasyPros	# 221	‐

Kevin Spinelli KevScores	# 230	‐

Who Should I Trade? Player Statistics
	Yusei Kikuchi SP - LAA	Mason Black SP,RP - KC
2026 Stats


Games Played	7	12

Games Started	7	0

Innings Pitched	31.0	17.2

Wins	0	0

Losses	3	0

Saves	0	0

Blown Saves	0	0

Holds	0	0

Hits Allowed	35	18

Earned Runs	20	7

Home Runs Allowed	3	3

Strikeouts	33	15

Walks	14	11

ERA	5.81	3.57

WHIP	1.58	1.64

Who Should I Trade? Player Projections
	Yusei Kikuchi SP - LAA	Mason Black SP,RP - KC
2026 Projections


Games Played	6	13

Games Started	6	1

Innings Pitched	36.0	13.8

Wins	2	1

Losses	2	1

Saves	0	0

Blown Saves	0	0

Holds	0	0

Hits Allowed	35	14

Earned Runs	17	8

Home Runs Allowed	5	2

Strikeouts	37	11

Walks	13	6

ERA	4.36	4.99

WHIP	1.38	1.50

Who Should I Trade? Player Notes
	Yusei Kikuchi SP - LAA	Mason Black SP,RP - KC
News
	Yusei Kikuchi recently began his throwing program and has progressed to playing catch. Nicholas Rodriguez Mon, Jun 22nd	The Royals optioned Mason Black to Triple-A Omaha. Ari Koslow Fri, Jun 19th
	The Angels transferred Yusei Kikuchi to the 60-day injured list. Ari Koslow Fri, May 22nd	The Royals recalled Mason Black from Triple-A Omaha. Ari Koslow Wed, May 27th
	Yusei Kikuchi said he hopes to start his throwing program soon to return sometime in the early part of the second half. Ari Koslow Wed, May 20th	The Royals optioned Mason Black to Triple-A Omaha. Ari Koslow Tue, May 5th
	Yusei Kikuchi will be shut down for the next 3 to 4 weeks due to left shoulder inflammation, according to Angels' manager Kurt Suzuki. Diego Sandoval Tue, May 5th	The Royals have recalled right-hander Mason Black from Triple-A Omaha. Brenton Kemp Sun, Apr 19th
	Former Los Angeles Times writer, Mike DiGiovanna reported that sources have told him Yusei Kikuchi (shoulder) is “gonna be out for several months, if not the whole season.” Ari Koslow Tue, May 5th	Righthander Mason Black has been optioned to Triple-A Omaha by the Kansas City Royals. David Leisering Tue, Mar 17th
Notes
There are no recent notes for these players

Who Should I Trade? Player Schedules
Date	Opp	Opp Pitcher	VBR	Opp	Opp Pitcher	VBR
	Yusei Kikuchi SP - LAA			Mason Black SP,RP - KC
Fri, Mar 27th	@ HOU	Mike Burrows (4-9)	#232	@ ATL	Chris Sale (10-6)	#6
Sat, Mar 28th	@ HOU	Cristian Javier (0-1)	#204	@ ATL	Reynaldo Lopez (4-3)	#90
Sun, Mar 29th	@ HOU	Tatsuya Imai (6-4)	#128	@ ATL	Grant Holmes (6-4)	#150
Mon, Mar 30th	@ CHC	Edward Cabrera (5-4)	#97	vs MIN	Simeon Woods Richardson (1-7)	#354
Wed, Apr 1st	@ CHC	Matthew Boyd (6-1)	#36	vs MIN	Joe Ryan (6-6)	#13
Thu, Apr 2nd				vs MIN	Taj Bradley (9-4)	#46
Sat, Apr 4th	vs SEA	Emerson Hancock (6-4)	#94	vs MIL	Logan Henderson (4-1)	#56
Sun, Apr 5th	vs SEA	Luis Castillo (3-9)	#67	vs MIL	Kyle Harrison (8-2)	#53
Mon, Apr 6th	vs ATL	Chris Sale (10-6)	#6	@ CLE	Tanner Bibee (4-9)	#48
Tue, Apr 7th	vs ATL	Reynaldo Lopez (4-3)	#90	@ CLE	Gavin Williams (10-5)	#25
Wed, Apr 8th	vs ATL	Grant Holmes (6-4)	#150	@ CLE	Joey Cantillo (8-5)	#77
Thu, Apr 9th				vs CWS	Anthony Kay (7-4)	#201
Fri, Apr 10th	@ CIN	Chase Burns (12-1)	#22	vs CWS	Davis Martin (9-5)	#91
Sat, Apr 11th	@ CIN	Brandon Williamson (2-3)	#418	vs CWS	Erick Fedde (5-6)	#371
Sun, Apr 12th	@ CIN	Andrew Abbott (5-6)	#108	vs CWS	Grant Taylor (4-2)	#44
Tue, Apr 14th	@ NYY	Ryan Weathers (3-7)	#58	@ DET	Framber Valdez (5-7)	#35
Wed, Apr 15th	@ NYY	Luis Gil (1-2)	#300	@ DET	Jack Flaherty (3-8)	#72
Thu, Apr 16th	@ NYY	Max Fried (4-3)	#16	@ DET	Keider Montero (7-5)	#154
Fri, Apr 17th	vs SD	Matt Waldron (1-2)	#275	@ NYY	Cam Schlittler (9-6)	#20
Sat, Apr 18th	vs SD	German Marquez (4-2)	#360	@ NYY	Will Warren (7-4)	#62
Sun, Apr 19th	vs SD	Michael King (6-7)	#50	@ NYY	Ryan Weathers (3-7)	#58
Mon, Apr 20th	vs TOR	Dylan Cease (6-5)	#8	vs BAL	Kyle Bradish (7-9)	#40
Tue, Apr 21st	vs TOR	Patrick Corbin (3-4)	#319	vs BAL	Shane Baz (4-9)	#63
Wed, Apr 22nd	vs TOR	Eric Lauer (5-5)	#287	vs BAL	Chris Bassitt (4-4)	#271
Fri, Apr 24th	@ KC	Noah Cameron (5-8)	#98	vs LAA	Yusei Kikuchi (0-3)	#138
Sat, Apr 25th	@ KC	Cole Ragans (1-4)		vs LAA	Walbert Urena (6-7)	#243
Sun, Apr 26th	@ KC	Seth Lugo (4-6)	#141	vs LAA	Reid Detmers (3-7)	#41
Tue, Apr 28th	@ CWS	Davis Martin (9-5)	#91	@ ATH	Aaron Civale (5-7)	#206
Wed, Apr 29th	@ CWS	Erick Fedde (5-6)	#371	@ ATH	Luis Severino (2-6)	#181
Thu, Apr 30th				@ ATH	Jeffrey Springs (3-9)	#190
Fri, May 1st	vs NYM	Christian Scott (3-2)	#60	@ SEA	Bryan Woo (7-6)	#15
Sat, May 2nd	vs NYM	Nolan McLean (7-6)	#31	@ SEA	Emerson Hancock (6-4)	#94
Sun, May 3rd	vs NYM	Clay Holmes (4-4)	#101	@ SEA	Luis Castillo (3-9)	#67
Mon, May 4th	vs CWS	Davis Martin (9-5)	#91	vs CLE	Tanner Bibee (4-9)	#48
Tue, May 5th	vs CWS	Erick Fedde (5-6)	#371	vs CLE	Gavin Williams (10-5)	#25
Wed, May 6th	vs CWS	Noah Schultz (3-7)	#230	vs CLE	Joey Cantillo (8-5)	#77
Thu, May 7th				vs CLE	Slade Cecconi (4-7)	#105
Fri, May 8th	@ TOR	Dylan Cease (6-5)	#8	vs DET	Keider Montero (7-5)	#154
Sat, May 9th	@ TOR	Trey Yesavage (4-5)	#79	vs DET	Burch Smith
Sun, May 10th	@ TOR	Spencer Miles (4-2)	#96	vs DET	Brenan Hanifee
Tue, May 12th	@ CLE	Slade Cecconi (4-7)	#105	@ CWS	Erick Fedde (5-6)	#371
Wed, May 13th	@ CLE	Parker Messick (8-5)	#49	@ CWS	Noah Schultz (3-7)	#230
Thu, May 14th				@ CWS	Anthony Kay (7-4)	#201
Fri, May 15th	vs LAD	Will Klein (3-4)	#208	@ STL	Dustin May (5-7)	#52
Sat, May 16th	vs LAD	Justin Wrobleski (11-2)	#75	@ STL	Kyle Leahy (7-4)	#123
Sun, May 17th	vs LAD	Roki Sasaki (3-5)	#110	@ STL	Andre Pallante (10-6)	#134
Mon, May 18th	vs ATH	J.T. Ginn (8-6)	#144	vs BOS	Sonny Gray (12-1)	#28
Tue, May 19th	vs ATH	Jacob Lopez (4-4)	#238	vs BOS	Ranger Suarez (4-3)	#30
Wed, May 20th	vs ATH	Aaron Civale (5-7)	#206	vs BOS	Connelly Early (7-5)	#137
Fri, May 22nd	vs TEX	Jacob deGrom (7-6)	#7	vs SEA	Logan Gilbert (8-6)	#11
Sat, May 23rd	vs TEX	Nathan Eovaldi (9-8)	#19	vs SEA	George Kirby (8-8)	#21
Sun, May 24th	vs TEX	MacKenzie Gore (6-8)	#34	vs SEA	Bryan Woo (7-6)	#15
Mon, May 25th				vs NYY	Will Warren (7-4)	#62
Tue, May 26th	@ DET	Keider Montero (7-5)	#154	vs NYY	Cam Schlittler (9-6)	#20
Wed, May 27th	@ DET	Casey Mize (4-6)	#39	vs NYY	Gerrit Cole (3-5)	#29
Fri, May 29th	@ TB	Nick Martinez (9-2)	#106	@ TEX	MacKenzie Gore (6-8)	#34
Sat, May 30th	@ TB	Drew Rasmussen (8-5)	#17	@ TEX	Kumar Rocker (3-8)	#93
Sun, May 31st	@ TB	Shane McClanahan (8-6)	#33	@ TEX	Jack Leiter (3-7)	#135
Mon, Jun 1st	vs COL	Kyle Freeland (2-9)	#268	@ CIN	Lyon Richardson
Tue, Jun 2nd	vs COL	Tomoyuki Sugano (9-4)	#433	@ CIN	Andrew Abbott (5-6)	#108
Wed, Jun 3rd	vs COL	Michael Lorenzen (3-9)	#425	@ CIN	Chase Burns (12-1)	#22
Thu, Jun 4th				@ MIN	Andrew Morris (4-2)	#145
Fri, Jun 5th	@ LAD	Roki Sasaki (3-5)	#110	@ MIN	Zebby Matthews (4-7)	#111
Sat, Jun 6th	@ LAD	Yoshinobu Yamamoto (10-6)	#12	@ MIN	Joe Ryan (6-6)	#13
Sun, Jun 7th	@ LAD	Emmet Sheehan (4-7)	#37	@ MIN	Connor Prielipp (2-5)	#120
Tue, Jun 9th	vs HOU	Kai-Wei Teng (4-6)	#250	vs TEX	Nathan Eovaldi (9-8)	#19
Wed, Jun 10th	vs HOU	Peter Lambert (8-5)	#157	vs TEX	MacKenzie Gore (6-8)	#34
Thu, Jun 11th				vs TEX	Kumar Rocker (3-8)	#93
Fri, Jun 12th	vs TB	Shane McClanahan (8-6)	#33	vs HOU	Tatsuya Imai (6-4)	#128
Sat, Jun 13th	vs TB	Griffin Jax (6-7)	#57	vs HOU	Mike Burrows (4-9)	#232
Sun, Jun 14th	vs TB	Casey Legumina		vs HOU	Spencer Arrighetti (7-5)	#153
Mon, Jun 15th	@ ARI	Ryne Nelson (3-5)	#198	@ WSH	Andrew Alvarez (2-3)	#151
Tue, Jun 16th	@ ARI	Merrill Kelly (8-8)	#112	@ WSH	Foster Griffin (11-2)	#59
Wed, Jun 17th	@ ARI	Eduardo Rodriguez (8-3)	#114	@ WSH	Zack Littell (7-7)	#179
Thu, Jun 18th	@ ATH	Gage Jump (3-6)	#92	vs STL	Matthew Liberatore (5-7)	#117
Fri, Jun 19th	@ ATH	Jeffrey Springs (3-9)	#190	vs STL	Michael McGreevy (4-7)	#88
Sun, Jun 21st	@ ATH	Jack Perkins (2-5)	#118	vs STL	Dustin May (5-7)	#52
Mon, Jun 22nd	vs BAL	Kyle Bradish (7-9)	#40	@ TB	Drew Rasmussen (8-5)	#17
Tue, Jun 23rd	vs BAL	Shane Baz (4-9)	#63	@ TB	Shane McClanahan (8-6)	#33
Wed, Jun 24th	vs BAL	Trey Gibson (1-3)	#298	@ TB	Griffin Jax (6-7)	#57
Thu, Jun 25th				@ TB	Casey Legumina
Fri, Jun 26th	vs ATH	J.T. Ginn (8-6)	#144	@ CWS	David Sandlin (2-1)	#313
Sat, Jun 27th	vs ATH	Jack Perkins (2-5)	#118	@ CWS	Davis Martin (9-5)	#91
Sun, Jun 28th	vs ATH	Aaron Civale (5-7)	#206	@ CWS	Anthony Kay (7-4)	#201
Tue, Jun 30th	@ SEA	Bryan Woo (7-6)	#15	vs TB	Griffin Jax (6-7)	#57
Wed, Jul 1st				vs TB	Shane McClanahan (8-6)	#33
Thu, Jul 2nd	@ SEA	Bryce Miller (4-4)	#38	vs TB	Ian Seymour (6-2)	#73
Sat, Jul 4th	vs BOS	Sonny Gray (12-1)	#28	vs PHI	Jesus Luzardo (9-4)	#9
Sun, Jul 5th	vs BOS	Ranger Suarez (4-3)	#30	vs PHI	Aaron Nola (3-8)	#51
Mon, Jul 6th				vs PHI	Cristopher Sanchez (12-4)	#4
Tue, Jul 7th	@ TEX	Jacob deGrom (7-6)	#7	@ NYM	Cionel Perez
Wed, Jul 8th	@ TEX	MacKenzie Gore (6-8)	#34	@ NYM	Christian Scott (3-2)	#60
Thu, Jul 9th	@ TEX	Nathan Eovaldi (9-8)	#19	@ NYM	Sean Manaea (2-5)	#86
Fri, Jul 10th	@ MIN	Zebby Matthews (4-7)	#111	@ BAL	Brandon Young (8-2)	#132
Sat, Jul 11th	@ MIN	Joe Ryan (6-6)	#13	@ BAL	Kyle Bradish (7-9)	#40
Sun, Jul 12th	@ MIN	Taj Bradley (9-4)	#46	@ BAL	Shane Baz (4-9)	#63
Fri, Jul 17th	vs DET	Troy Melton (5-1)	#104	vs SD	Michael King (6-7)	#50
Sat, Jul 18th	vs DET	Tarik Skubal (6-5)	#2	vs SD	Griffin Canning (1-8)	#165
Sun, Jul 19th	vs DET	Casey Mize (4-6)	#39	vs SD	German Marquez (4-2)	#360
Mon, Jul 20th	vs STL	Kyle Leahy (7-4)	#123	vs SF	Trevor McDonald (3-7)	#242
Tue, Jul 21st	vs STL	Matthew Liberatore (5-7)	#117	vs SF	Tyler Mahle (2-9)	#85
Wed, Jul 22nd	vs STL	Hunter Dobbins (2-1)	#178	vs SF	Landen Roupp (7-8)	#64
Thu, Jul 23rd				@ DET	Troy Melton (5-1)	#104
Fri, Jul 24th	@ SF	Logan Webb (5-7)	#14	@ DET	Tarik Skubal (6-5)	#2
Sat, Jul 25th	@ SF	Robbie Ray (8-6)	#84	@ DET	Casey Mize (4-6)	#39
Sun, Jul 26th	@ SF	Trevor McDonald (3-7)	#242	@ DET	Framber Valdez (5-7)	#35
Tue, Jul 28th	vs HOU	Peter Lambert (8-5)	#157	@ MIN	Bailey Ober (7-3)	#89
Wed, Jul 29th	vs HOU	Spencer Arrighetti (7-5)	#153	@ MIN	Taj Bradley (9-4)	#46
Thu, Jul 30th				@ MIN	Zebby Matthews (4-7)	#111
Fri, Jul 31st	vs MIL	Robert Gasser (2-4)	#133	@ COL	Tomoyuki Sugano (9-4)	#433
Sat, Aug 1st	vs MIL	Jacob Misiorowski (10-4)	#10	@ COL	Ryan Feltner (3-4)	#432
Sun, Aug 2nd	vs MIL			@ COL
Tue, Aug 4th	@ BAL			vs MIN
Wed, Aug 5th	@ BAL			vs MIN
Thu, Aug 6th	@ BAL			vs MIN
Fri, Aug 7th	@ MIA			vs CHC
Sat, Aug 8th	@ MIA			vs CHC
Sun, Aug 9th	@ MIA			vs CHC
Mon, Aug 10th	vs TEX			@ LAD
Tue, Aug 11th	vs TEX			@ LAD
Wed, Aug 12th	vs TEX			@ LAD
Fri, Aug 14th	vs KC			@ LAA
Sat, Aug 15th	vs KC			@ LAA
Sun, Aug 16th	vs KC			@ LAA
Mon, Aug 17th				vs ATH
Tue, Aug 18th	@ HOU			vs ATH
Wed, Aug 19th	@ HOU			vs ATH
Thu, Aug 20th	@ HOU			vs ATH
Fri, Aug 21st	@ TEX			vs DET
Sat, Aug 22nd	@ TEX			vs DET
Sun, Aug 23rd	@ TEX			vs DET
Tue, Aug 25th	vs CLE			@ TOR
Wed, Aug 26th	vs CLE			@ TOR
Thu, Aug 27th				@ TOR
Fri, Aug 28th	vs PHI			@ CLE
Sat, Aug 29th	vs PHI			@ CLE
Sun, Aug 30th	vs PHI			@ CLE
Tue, Sep 1st	vs NYY			vs MIA
Wed, Sep 2nd	vs NYY			vs MIA
Thu, Sep 3rd				vs MIA
Fri, Sep 4th	@ PIT			vs TOR
Sat, Sep 5th	@ PIT			vs TOR
Sun, Sep 6th	@ PIT			vs TOR
Mon, Sep 7th	@ BOS			vs ARI
Tue, Sep 8th	@ BOS			vs ARI
Wed, Sep 9th	@ BOS			vs ARI
Fri, Sep 11th	@ WSH			@ BOS
Sat, Sep 12th	@ WSH			@ BOS
Sun, Sep 13th	@ WSH			@ BOS
Tue, Sep 15th	vs SEA			@ HOU
Wed, Sep 16th	vs SEA			@ HOU
Thu, Sep 17th	vs MIN			@ HOU
Fri, Sep 18th	vs MIN			@ PIT
Sat, Sep 19th	vs MIN			@ PIT
Sun, Sep 20th	vs MIN			@ PIT
Tue, Sep 22nd	@ ATH			vs CWS
Wed, Sep 23rd	@ ATH			vs CWS
Thu, Sep 24th	@ SEA			vs CWS
Fri, Sep 25th	@ SEA			vs CLE
Sat, Sep 26th	@ SEA			vs CLE
Sun, Sep 27th	@ SEA			vs CLE
Thu, Mar 26th	@ HOU	Hunter Brown (1-1)	#24
Tue, Mar 31st	@ CHC	Jameson Taillon (2-5)	#103
Fri, Apr 3rd	vs SEA	Bryan Woo (7-6)	#15
Mon, Apr 13th	@ NYY	Will Warren (7-4)	#62
Mon, Apr 27th	@ CWS	Anthony Kay (7-4)	#201
Mon, May 11th	@ CLE	Joey Cantillo (8-5)	#77
Thu, May 21st	vs ATH	Luis Severino (2-6)	#181
Thu, May 28th	@ DET	Jack Flaherty (3-8)	#72
Mon, Jun 8th	vs HOU	Spencer Arrighetti (7-5)	#153
Sat, Jun 20th	@ ATH	J.T. Ginn (8-6)	#144
Mon, Jun 29th	@ SEA	George Kirby (8-8)	#21
Fri, Jul 3rd	vs BOS	Jake Bennett (6-3)	#100
Mon, Jul 27th	vs HOU	Tatsuya Imai (6-4)	#128
Thu, Aug 13th	vs TEX
Mon, Aug 24th	vs CLE
Mon, Aug 31st	vs NYY
Mon, Sep 14th	vs SEA

Who Should I Trade?

Mason Black for Yusei Kikuchi (2026)

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