Cole became the first pitcher to 10 wins on Saturday, giving up two runs (one earned) on five hits in six innings as the Pirates downed the Phillies 4-3. He struck out seven. If you're taking part in a rest-of-season redraft league this weekend, it would be tough to argue against Cole being the first pitcher off the board given his dominance so far. Cole's 1.71 ERA and 93:19 K:BB ratio in 84 innings are elite, and he'll look for win number 11 on the road against the White Sox on Thursday.

Cole earned his ninth victory Sunday, hurling seven shutout innings on six hits, three walks and seven strikeouts against the Braves. He also plunked a pair of batters in a testy, highly-charged affair. After throwing 100 pitches in his previous outing, Cole came back with a season-high 116 pitches Sunday. Manager Clint Hurdle noted that Thursday's off-day will push his next start -- a home start against Philadelphia -- back a day, which let the team loosen the reigns on its stud Sunday. He walked three batters for the first time in 12 starts against Atlanta.

Cole struck out nine and walked two while holding the Giants to two runs -- both unearned -- on five hits over seven innings en route to his eighth win of the season. He's continuing his ascent to ace status, if he hasn't officially reached that level already. Cole's 22.3 K-BB% ranks 11th among qualified starters, and the list ahead of him is almost entirely populated by the elite pitchers in the game. He'll draw the Braves on the road Sunday for his next start.

Cole improved to 7-2 on Wednesday, holding the Marlins to two runs -- both solo homers -- on seven hits while striking out seven in seven innings. Everything came up sevens for Cole in this one, and he continues to deliver consistently ace-quality work for the Pirates on every fifth day. Cole had only given up two homers in his first nine starts, so he doubled that total Wednesday, but he generally does a great job keeping the ball in the yard. He'll draw the Giants on Monday.

Cole allowed one run (unearned) on six hits, walking one and striking out 10 over 8.1 innings of a 4-1 win against the Mets on Friday night. Cole (6-2, 2.05 ERA) was simply masterful. They tried to get him his first career complete game, and he did hit 99 mph in the ninth inning, but a single and a walk with one out prompted his departure. He was in command throughout, and looked every bit the ace, tossing 111 pitches (74 for strikes) in the impressive performance.

Cole was the hard-luck loser Saturday, allowing two runs on seven hits and a walk over six innings, striking out eight. Unfortunately for him, Jon Lester was just a little bit stingier in the game. Cole has yet to allow more than three earned runs in any start this season, and his 2.40 ERA, 1.15 WHIP and 53:13 K:BB ratio in 48.2 innings are all excellent. He'll look to continue his ace-like ways next Saturday at home to the Mets.

Cole won his fifth game in seven starts Monday, limiting the Phillies to two runs on six hits and two walks in seven innings. He struck out six batters. He threw 60 of 94 pitches for strikes but didn't have his best fastball command. Even so, the righthander lowered his earned-run average to 2.32 and WHIP to 1.13, respectively. Cole will get the Cubs in Chicago over the weekend.

Cole (4-1) took his first loss of the year Wednesday, allowing three runs on eight hits and two walks over five innings against the Reds. Cole made it through a quiet first three innings, but ran into a lot of trouble in the fourth and fifth, and ended up throwing 91 pitches before being removed. Nonetheless, prior to this outing, Cole looked like he was in the process of developing into the ace we always expected him to become, and one subpar outing won't change that. He draws the struggling Phillies his next time out.

Cole struck out eight and walked one while giving up only an unearned run on three hits to pick up the win Wednesday against the Cubs. Cole (4-0) lowered his ERA to 1.76 and is now 6-0 in six career starts against the Cubs. With a 35:8 K:BB ratio, Cole is off to a hot start with four straight wins in his last four starts. He'll look to continue his win streak next Wednesday when he faces off against the Reds.

Cole struck out seven and walked two while giving up one run on seven hits over 7.2 innings in a winning effort Friday against Arizona. It was an excellent outing for Cole, who threw a first-pitch strike to 27 of the 32 batters he faced, and pounded the zone with 78 of his 108 pitches going for strikes. In addition to missing more bats early this season (career-high 12.1% swinging-strike rate), Cole has increased his groundball rate to a career-high 62.1%. If those early signs of skills growth hold, Cole can ascend to fantasy ace status this season.