Ahead of his spring training debut, one former minor league star is named the dark horse to make the Washington Nationals' 40-man roster
The Washington Nationals will look to stay hot when they take on the Philadelphia Phillies on Monday evening in the first of two games against the NL East foe this week with a chance at becoming the first team in baseball to reach 4-0 in spring training.
The opening weekend has given several fringe players a chance to shine, such as Brady House whose two home runs in Sunday's 16-8 win over the Miami Marlins made him one of two players across baseball to post two home runs through the opening weekend, while Warming Bernabel finished 2-for-3 with an RBI in Sunday's win in his first action of the month. Monday will provide the next chance for several to make an impression in front of the new coaching staff, including possibly right hander Riley Cornelio, who was highlighted on Monday morning.
One year after Brad Lord rode the momentum of a strong start through spring training to make the 2025 40-man roster, MLB.com pointed to Cornelio as the dark horse to make the Nationals' 40-man roster after noting that he could make a similar ascent as Lord did.
"Last season, Cornelio advanced from High-A to Triple-A and was named the Nationals Minor League Pitcher of the Year," Jessica Camerato said of Cornelio. "After Cornelio led their farm system in ERA (3.28), opponents' batting average (.205) and starts (26), they protected him from the Rule 5 Draft. He is in camp as a member of the 40-man roster."
A former seventh round pick out of TCU, Cornelio struggled in his first two seasons in the minors after finishing with an ERA north of 4.50 each year, but that flipped in 2025. The right hander climbed the minor league ranks where he went on to pitch in Triple-A where he posted a 3.28 ERA across 134.1 inning en route to being named the Nationals Minor League Pitcher of the Year. It was enough for new president of baseball operations Paul Toboni to keep him away from the Rule 5 Draft after being added to the 40-man roster, also an indication of his potential status on the 2026 final roster.
Cornelio has shown off his impressive arsenal of pitches in the process with impressive velocity a 50% whiff rate on his slider and 36.2% on his changeup, giving credence to his ability to become a capable arm in the rotation.
But like the rest, Cornelio will get a chance to make those darkhorse aspirations a reality once he makes. his debut in spring training.