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Last year the Washington Nationals had one pitcher who was the story of camp, and that was Brad Lord. After a breakout year in 2025, Lord showed up to camp with increased velocity and earned a spot on the big league roster. It looks like lightning may have struck twice because Riley Cornelio is following a very similar path.
Like Lord, Riley Cornelio was drafted in the 2022 class. He was taken in the 7th round, while Lord was selected in the 18th round. However, Cornelio’s breakout came a year after Lord. He gained three ticks of velocity according to Baseball America, averaging 94 on his heater.
The velocity gain led to much better results, with Cornelio posting a 3.28 ERA in 134.1 innings across three levels. It looks like the right hander has added even more velocity this spring, averaging over 96 MPH in his first outing of the spring. In his first inning of work, Cornelio averaged over 97, but he was sitting more in the 95-96 range in his second inning.
That velocity led to dominant results. In two innings of work, Cornelio allowed one hit, walked nobody and struck out three batters. He looked really sharp and could challenge for a roster spot. Cornelio was actually added to the 40-man roster this offseason, so the prospect of the righty winning a bullpen spot is on the table.
This story really is so similar to Brad Lord. Both came into camp coming off breakout years, but were on the outside looking in. Last year Lord showed up with better stuff and won a roster spot. Based on his first outing, it looks like Cornelio could do the same.
Lord himself actually had high praise for Cornelio in an interview with Grant Paulsen. He called Cornelio the most underrated player in Nats camp. I think Lord might be on to something there because Cornelio looked like a big leaguer in his outing last night.
While the added velocity is the headliner for Cornelio, his fastball just sets the table for his best pitch. Riley Cornelio has always been known for his wipeout slider and he showcased that last night. He got five whiffs on the slider and threw it just as much as his fastball. Despite added velocity, Cornelio seems to be moving away from his fastball, a common trend in Nats camp.
Like Lord, Cornelio can pitch in multiple different roles, but I think he would be best suited to the bullpen. His fastball tends to lose steam as the game goes on and he is mostly a fastball-slider guy. That feels like a bullpen arm to me, but he can also start. Cornelio has proven to be durable in the minors, so he can serve as an innings eating starter.
If the Nats wanted to be creative, Lord and Cornelio could be a tandem. Both are at their best in two to three innings spurts. Maybe they could piggy back each other and each go three or four innings. Instead of having one person take up a rotation spot, it could be a duo.
Cornelio still has to keep up the strong performances if he wants to make the team. There are guys ahead of him in the pecking order, so he will have to out-perform them. He also was not totally perfect last night. Cornelio made a fielding error, which probably frustrated manager Blake Butera. So far this spring, Nats pitchers have been shaky defensively.
With that in mind, Blake Butera is probably going to amp up the PFP work. The Nats already have defensive question marks, so they need their pitchers to be able to field their position. That is a secondary concern though.
Overall, it is great to see an arm really impress early in camp. In this new regime, there are going to be some unexpected pitchers who find lightning in a bottle. We are already seeing a new pitching philosophy from the Nats. The team is dialing back fastball usage in a big way.
Even with the team moving away from fastballs, velocity remains important. It is still very helpful. Fastballs are not the only pitch that benefits from extra velocity. Adding velocity to breaking balls also helps improve those pitches. Riley Cornelio has added velocity, and that added heat could win him a roster spot.