GerritCole

News: 1 hour agoCole gave up zero runs on four hits and one walk while striking out nine in 5.2 innings in Sunday's intrasquad game, James Smyth of YES Network reports.

Spin: He built up to 84 pitches and looked quite good while facing what amounted to the junior varsity Yankees lineup -- Mike Tauchman, Miguel Andujar and Clint Frazier were the three best hitters in the lineup. Cole is on track to have zero workload restrictions on Opening Day.

ESPN Fantasy Projection: After missing out on signing him as their 2008 first-round draftee, then falling short of trading for him following the 2017 campaign, the Yankees have finally landed Cole, awarding him the largest free-agent contract by any pitcher in baseball history. In fitting him for pinstripes, the Yankees offer Cole one of the game's most favorable environments, sporting an elite offense and bullpen as well as one of the most analytically driven staffs -- something that surely appealed to the right-hander. But there's a drawback in the form of Yankee Stadium. With its short porch in right field, it's a much more hitting-friendly ballpark than either of the previous two he called home, which could lead to a small increase in his ERA. That shouldn't preclude him from being the first pitcher off the board in all fantasy leagues, though, being that his 17% swing-and-miss rate last season was the highest by any qualified pitcher in the 18 years for which that data exists. Cole is a pitcher at his peak. Draft accordingly.