Nationals Option Right-Handed Pitcher to Minors After Positive Outing
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The Washington Nationals were fully ready to put their historic collapse against the San Francisco Giants that took place on June 10 behind them. But they'll have to pick themselves off the mat on Saturday after they were drubbed by the Seattle Mariners in Game 1 of their weekend set.
Much of that had to do with the issues of Zack Littell, who gave up five earned runs across 1 2/3 innings before he was pulled from his start. That forced right-hander Riley Cornelio into an extended outing for his third career major league appearance. And after throwing a combined four frames in his previous two outings combined, he had to toss 4 1/3 on Friday.
There were some positives to take away from Cornelio's performance. But despite that, the Nationals announced that they optioned the right-hander back to Triple-A Rochester following the game.
Riley Cornelio Back Down With Rochester
The main reason for this option is because he threw 73 pitches. Washington needs a fresh bullpen arm for the remainder of this series, and since Cornelio wouldn't be available for a few days, they used one of his options to recall another reliever. At the time of writing, the corresponding move has not been revealed.
When the Nationals recalled Cornelio for his second big league stint on June 7 following what was a disastrous debut, they were hoping he'd be able to stick for a while on their major league roster. If Littell hadn't had a blowup outing, perhaps that would have been the case. But at least he was able to show some favorable things during his second opportunity in The Show compared to his first.
Riley Cornelio Flashed More High-Upside Stuff
The 26-year-old didn't dominate the Mariners by any means. He gave up three earned runs across his 4 1/3 innings with just two strikeouts and two walks issued. However, some of the underlying stuff looked good for Cornelio.
His slider played. He generated whiffs on 10 of his 19 sliders thrown, and he induced a chase rate of 40% on that pitch. While his four-seam fastball got hit around a bit, it still sat in the mid-90 mph range and had a tjStuff+ rating of 109, which is a great number for his heater.
There are still things he has to work on. His command is suspect with nine walks across 8 1/3 total innings pitched. And he has failed to put away batters via the strikeout. But there are also things to like when it comes to his game, which he was able to showcase in his lengthy outing against Seattle.
Cornelio will have to work on those things when he's down on the farm. But at least he was sent to Rochester after he had some positive moments this time around.
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Brad Wakai graduated from Penn State University with a degree in Journalism. While an undergrad, he worked at the student radio station covering different Penn State athletic programs like football, basketball, volleyball, soccer and other sports. Brad became the Lead Contributor for Nittany Lions Wire of Gannett Media where he continued to cover Penn State athletics. Currently, Brad is the Publisher for Washington Nationals On SI and covers multiple teams across the On SI network. He is the host of the sports podcast I Said What I Said, where he and his co-host discuss topics across the NFL, College Football, the NBA and other sports. You can follow him on Twitter: @bwakai