Fantasy Baseball Trade Tips: Paul Skenes, Mason Miller among pitchers to target with waiver wire riddled with quality hitters
The trend has been obvious in recent weeks: the fantasy baseball waiver wire is full of appealing hitters but barren of impactful starting pitchers. Few skilled starters have recently been promoted to the majors, and the few who recently emerged — such as Griffin Jax and Jake Bennett — were quickly scooped up by managers who were desperate to add another arm.
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The free-agent imbalance can be tied to the trade market, since wise managers are consistently balancing all methods to improve their roster. It may be a good time to trade hitters for pitchers, as managers can quickly fill the vacated hitting spot with one of the players mentioned in this most recent waiver wire article. With this plan in mind, here are some pitchers to target on the trade market.
Buy Low
Bryan Woo, SP, Mariners: Although it's normal for Seattle pitchers to fare best when working at their pitcher-friendly home park, the splits for Woo this season are eye-popping. The right-hander has pitched like a Cy Young winner at T-Mobile Park (2.20 ERA) and a minor leaguer on the road (6.28 ERA). Some of the gap stems from a superior strikeout rate at home, but much of the problem lies in BABIP gap of over 100 points. Woo entered the season with a reasonable ERA gap of 1.09 between his home and road marks, and the expectation here is that he will find better success in his road starts during the second half. If that happens, he will be a top-10 pitcher who can currently be acquired for a reasonable return.
Buy Medium
Reid Detmers, SP/RP, Angels: After enjoying a dazzling five-start stretch (1.36 ERA, 0.55 WHIP, 39:5 K:BB ratio) from late May to the middle of June, Detmers allowed exactly five earned runs in three of his final four first-half outings. Such is life for the inconsistent southpaw, who opened the second half by striking out seven Tigers over six shutout innings. Managers who already have a strong pitching staff may wish to avoid such an inconsistent hurler, but those who need to swing for the fences this summer should make a buy-low acquisition on Detmers, who has terrific swing-and-miss skills (10.2 K/9 rate) and a notable gap between his 4.16 ERA and 3.27 xERA.
Paul Skenes, SP, Pirates: There are two camps when it comes to Skenes. The first camp is concerned over summer velocity dips and some inconsistent results in the final weeks leading into the All-Star break. The second camp is taking a wider view of his 2026 season and see underlying numbers such as strikeout rate, walk rate and average exit velocity that mirror those from his magnificent 2024 and 2025 seasons. In leagues with a worried Skenes manager, wise opponents will attempt to acquire him for a return that is less than what a top-five starter deserves.
Jesús Luzardo, SP, Phillies: Perhaps more than any other pitcher, Luzardo has a tendency to ruin his season with a few poor starts. Last year, it was a two-start stretch in which he allowed 20 earned runs and another two-start period in which he was scored on 10 times. The bad stretch happened right out of the gate this year, when he allowed 20 earned runs over his initial four starts. The southpaw has been terrific (1.49 ERA, 0.99 WHIP, 63 SO) in his past seven starts and has the potential for dominant runs in which he carries fantasy teams. He's no longer a buy-low candidate but is also not treated as an ace, which is his ceiling for any two-month stretch.
Buy High
Mason Miller, SP, Padres: Of course, any manager would want Miller. But I'm not sure that everyone recognizes just how valuable he is. The Padres closer ranks as the 15th overall fantasy asset so far this season. Yes, Miller has been so good that just 14 players at any position have generated more fantasy value. In some category leagues, Miller managers will have an excess of saves, as he has done a great job in that area and will be joined on some teams by the likes of Louis Varland and Riley O'Brien. In those circumstances, managers would be wise to solve their save issues by making a significant offer for baseball's best ninth-inning man. For example, a perennial star such as Byron Buxton, Pete Alonso or Bryce Harper would get the Miller manager's attention. And based on 2026 production, that trade would be a win for a closer-needy team that adds Miller to their roster.
Payton Tolle, SP, Red Sox: Only four pitchers have topped Tolle's 2.94 xERA while also exceeding his innings total (89.2). The left-hander has also been excellent with his real-life stats, which include a 3.31 ERA and 1.10 WHIP. His 96:26 K:BB ratio is an outstanding mark, and he does a terrific job of keeping hitters off balance, as is evidenced in his 87.8 mph average exit velocity. Everything about Tolle screams "fantasy ace" with the exception of a long-term track record due to his relative inexperience. Managers who wish to acquire a potential ace for less than market value can put in a strong offer for Tolle that will still be less than what would be required for the established stars.
