Cole allowed five hits and walked no batters while striking out 11 across seven innings of scoreless work Saturday against the Padres.

EDGE Analysis

In his season debut, Cole had changed his pitch mix by moving away from his two-seam fastball in favor of heavier slider usage. That continued in his start Saturday, with excellent results as he got nearly a 17% whiff rate on 24 sliders thrown. He has looked absolutely dominant in his first two starts as a member of the Astros and it appears that his change in pitch mix is here to stay, which could lead to continued strong results.

Cole struck out 11 and allowed just one run on two hits and three walks over seven innings to earn the win Sunday against the Rangers.

EDGE Analysis

Cole was absolutely filthy in his first start as an Astro, as he used 21 swinging strikes to rack up those 11 strikeouts. As a Pirate in 2017, Cole reached double-digit strikeouts just twice and didn't strike out 11 batters in any of his 31 starts. Cole looks like he's in great form to start his Astros career, and at his best, he has been an ace-level pitcher. He's currently slotted fourth in Houston's rotation, truly an embarrassment of riches.

Cole will pitch the fourth game of the season, April 1, against Texas, Glenn Sattell of MLB.com reports.

EDGE Analysis

Manager A.J. Hinch set his rotation for the first turn of the regular season and placed Cole between Lance McCullers and Charlie Morton. Cole turned in a sub-par performance Sunday, his fifth Grapefruit League start, but overall has been pleased with his body of work this spring. "The pitch count is up, I feel strong. It's probably my best spring performance as a whole in my career," Cole said. "I feel really confident."

Cole allowed a run on four hits and two walks while striking out seven in Tuesday's start against the Mets.

EDGE Analysis

Cole is fitting into the Astros' rotation quite nicely, posting a 1.42 ERA with 15 strikeouts in 12.2 innings over four starts. The right-hander got his pitch count up to 77 and, with three more spring starts remaining, is on schedule for the first turn of the rotation in the regular season. He's expected to be Houston's third starter, behind Justin Verlander and Dallas Keuchel.

Cole allowed a run on two hits and two walks while striking out two Friday against the Mets, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.

EDGE Analysis

Cole, who stuck to fastballs and changeups during his first spring start, attempted to get a feel for his curveball while also trying to get familiar throwing to catcher Brian McCann the first time in game conditions. He ran his pitch count up to 53 (33 for strikes).

Cole stuck to all fastballs and changeups over two scoreless innings in Sunday's game against the Cardinals, Hunter Atkins of the Houston Chronicle reports. He struck out two and hit a batter.

EDGE Analysis

Cole was making his first appearance in the burnt-orange and blue uniform of the Astros. Nineteen of his 30 pitches went for strikes, and his command got better in his second frame, although he endured a long break between innings as his mates put up a 3-spot in a long second inning. The 27-year-old right-hander will introduce his offspeed stuff in subsequent outings.

Cole relied heavily on his fastball in 2017 with Pittsburgh, but the Astros feel he can benefit from throwing more offspeed stuff, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.

EDGE Analysis

Manager A.J. Hinch stressed there won't be an overhaul, but rather a "tweak" in pitch usage for Cole, who surrendered a career-high 31 home runs in 2017 -- 18 off his fastball. Hinch feels the key is to get a good game plan in front of Cole, which could mean fewer fastballs in favor of his slider and changeup.

The Pirates agreed to trade Cole to the Astros on Saturday in exchange for Joe Musgrove and Colin Moran, Tim Brown of Yahoo Sports reports.

EDGE Analysis

Apparently, Houston and Pittsburgh were able to move past whatever snag held up talks earlier in the week, as Cole will indeed join the Astros. Cole made 33 starts for the Pirates last season after missing time in 2016 due to elbow troubles. He improved both his strikeout and walk rates last year, and the move to Minute Maid Park is a sneaky upgrade for Cole, both in terms of expected run prevention and strikeouts. Look for his ADP to tick up accordingly.

Cole agreed to a one-year, $6.75 million deal with the Pirates on Friday, avoiding arbitration, Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune reports.

EDGE Analysis

It seemed that Cole, who receives a $3 million raise this offseason, was on the move to Houston earlier this week, but the report ended up being inaccurate. Of course, talks are likely still ongoing, so a trade could still happen. Cole is under team control for two more seasons, which makes him a highly-attractive commodity on the trade market, so the Pirates are rightfully holding out for a significant return package.

Contrary to a prior report, general manager Jeff Luhnow said Wednesday that a trade to acquire Cole from the Pirates is not done and not imminent, Jake Kaplan of the Houston Chronicle reports.

EDGE Analysis

Jon Morosi of MLB Network reported that the two teams have reached an agreement for Cole, so this deal is still likely to get done, and might even already be done, despite what Luhnow told the local beat reporter. There has been no word of which specific young players will be going to Pittsburgh. Assuming the deal eventually gets done, Cole's fantasy value won't be significantly impacted, as the expected gains in wins will likely be offset by the move to the American League.