Nathan John Cornejo (born September 24, 1979) is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

former professional baseball pitcher, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 2001 to 2004 for the

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...

Early life

Cornejo was born in Wellington, Kansas. His father,

Mardie Cornejo Nieves Mardie Cornejo (born August 5, 1951) is an American former professional baseball relief pitcher who played Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Mets. Cornejo played collegiately at University of Tulsa (TU), and is the father of fo ...

, appeared in 25 games in 1978 as a reliever for the New York Mets. The younger Cornejo attended Wellington High School.

Playing career

Nate Cornejo was drafted in the first round of the

1998 MLB draft The 1998 First-Year Player Draft, Major League Baseball's annual amateur draft of high school and college baseball players, was held on June 2 and 3, 1998. A total of 1445 players were drafted over the course of 50 rounds. First round selections ...

by the Detroit Tigers. He was the 34th player selected in the draft. Following the draft, he made his professional debut as a member of the Gulf Coast League Tigers. Cornejo recorded a 1–0 record in 5 appearances, posting a 1.26 earned run average over 14.1 innings. For the 1999 season, Cornejo was promoted to the Single–A West Michigan Whitecaps of the Midwest League. He made 28 starts, posting a 9–11 record and a 3.71 ERA. In 174.2 innings, Cornejo struck out 125 batters and walked 67. Cornejo split the 2000 season between the Single–A Lakeland Tigers of the

Florida State League The Florida State League (FSL) is a Minor League Baseball league based in the state of Florida. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 until its demotion to Single-A following ...

and the Double–A Jacksonville Suns of the Southern League. In 12 starts for Lakeland, he compiled a 5–5 record and a 3.04 ERA, with 60 strikeouts and 31 walks over 77 innings. Cornejo started 16 games for Jacksonville, posting a 5–7 record and an earned run average of 4.61. In 91.2 innings for Jacksonville, he recorded 60 strikeouts and 43 walks. He was selected to play in the 2001

All-Star Futures Game The All-Star Futures Game is an annual baseball exhibition game hosted by Major League Baseball (MLB) in conjunction with the mid-summer MLB All-Star Game. A team of American League-affiliated prospects competes against a team of National League ...

. In a preview of that game, the '' Seattle Post-Intelligencer'' compared him to future All-Star Matt Clement. In 2002, ''

Baseball America ''Baseball America'' is a sports enterprise that covers baseball at every level, including MLB, with a particular focus on up-and-coming players in the MiLB, college, high school, and international leagues. It is currently published in the form o ...

'' listed Cornejo as one of the top 100 prospects in baseball. In his lone full season with Detroit in 2003, Cornejo finished the season with a 6–17 record. He had the lowest strikeout rate of any starting pitcher in over 20 years, striking out just 46 batters in 194.2 innings. Cornejo played for the

until and was released to free agency in 2005. He was signed by the Chicago White Sox to a minor league contract in April 2006. Cornejo pitched four games in the minors before officially retiring on July 2, 2006.

References

External links

Detroit Tigers players 1979 births Living people Baseball players from Kansas People from Wellington, Kansas Major League Baseball pitchers Gulf Coast Tigers players West Michigan Whitecaps players Lakeland Tigers players Jacksonville Suns players Erie SeaWolves players Toledo Mud Hens players Birmingham Barons players Charlotte Knights players {{US-baseball-pitcher-1970s-stub

Early life

Playing career

See also

References

External links