Nationals Recently Drafted Pitcher Riley Cornelio Rapidly Rising Minor League System
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The Washington Nationals have a lot of high-upside pitching talent in their minor league system that has fans excited about what the future may hold, which has led to players such as Riley Cornelio being overlooked.
A seventh-round pick in the 2022 MLB draft out of Texas Christian University, his professional career got off to a somewhat slow start.
In 2023, pitching for Single-A Fredericksburg, Cornelio had a 4.68 ERA across 22 starts and 92.1 innings with 86 strikeouts and 49 walks issued.
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Those numbers aren’t going to jump off the page, but he did enough that the Nationals felt he was ready for a new challenge in 2024, promoting him to High-A Wilmington.
His production didn’t improve with a 5.56 ERA in 126.1 innings of work, stirking out 114 and walking 65.
An older prospect, the pressure was on Cornelio to start showcasing some of that promise, which led to Washington using a seventh-round pick on him in 2022.
Something must have clicked for him in the offseason, because his production has been taken to another level.
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Repeating High-A and being 1.7 years older than the average player, Cornelio dominated in the fashion the Nationals wanted to see.
He made seven starts, throwing 32.2 innings with a 3.03 ERA and 39 strikeouts.
That performance earned him a promotion to Double-A Harrisburg, where he showed no signs of slowing down.
In fact, he got even better with a 2.31 ERA across 66.1 innings with 58 strikeouts. He had a stellar 5.3 H/9 ratio and was doing a better job controlling his arsenal, dropping his BB/9 to a respectable 3.8.
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Now, Cornelio is going to have a chance to prove himself at the highest level in the minor leagues.
He is making his first career start for Triple-A Rochester on Thursday, being promoted for the second time this year.
Between High-A and Double-A, Cornelio was limiting opponents to a .184 batting average with an excellent 1.07 WHIP to go along with a 2.55 ERA.
Interesting story developing with 2022 seventh-round pick Riley Cornelio, who is putting it all together this season.
— Andrew Golden (@andrewcgolden) August 7, 2025
18 starts across High-A and AA. 2.55 ERA. 1.07 WHIP. .184 opponent batting average. And now he's making his first start with Rochester this afternoon. https://t.co/BYcF5odPvu
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Everything is beginning to click for the TCU product, who could find himself in the mix for some Major League innings down the stretch, should carry over the level of performance he has shown thus far in 2025 to Rochester.
Not currently ranked as one of Washington’s top 30 prospects, he has flown under the radar to this point.
But, Cornelio is now making a name for himself, one step away from reaching the MLB.
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