Nate Cornejo is a 6ft 5in pitcher from beautiful Wellington, Kansas and was drafted 34th overall in the 1st round by the Detroit Tigers in 1998. If you’re a Tigers fan I strongly advise you to immediately stop reading this, because his stats are flat-out scary, you might get nightmares. Let’s start from the beginning. Nate Cornejo somehow made progress through the lower classes of the Minors, and come 2001 between AA and AAA he went 16-3 with a 2.57 ERA in 154 IP, things were looking pretty good for the raw prospect. Unfortunately for the Detroit Tigers, Nate Cornejo, was called up to big show. However, Cornejo’s rookie year was one of his best. He went 4-4 with a 7.38 ERA and 22 K’s in 42.2 IP.
By the 2002 season Nate was rated the 55th prospect by Baseball America. Little did Baseball America know, that Nate Cornejo was NOT the 55th best prospect. Danny Almonte should have been ranked higher than Cornejo! The Tigers pitcher went 1-5 with a 5.04 ERA, he was sent back down to the minors, but don’t get too excited because he was called right back up. In 2003 the Detroit Tigers set an AL record for the worst season ever, with a horrific 43-119 season, a winning percentage of .265. And wouldn’t you know, Nate Cornejo was the ACE on the team.
The rotation went a little something like this:
#1 Nate Cornejo
#2 Mike Maroth
#3 Jeremy Bonderman
#4 Adam Bernero
#5 Gary Knotts
Clearly none of these starting pitchers had winning records. Cornejo had a record of 6-17 with a 4.67 ERA, both career highs. In 194.2 innings, Cornejo gave up 18 bombs, 58 BB’s, and 46 K’s. Somehow Cornejo didn’t lead the team in losses, Mike Maroth led the team with 21 (but Maroth also led the team in wins with 9). I’m not sure how Cornejo stayed on the team in 2004, but he went 1-3 with an 8.42 ERA.
Cornejo was sent down to the minors once again. He was then released by the Tigers, and signed with the White Sox. He never made it out of their farm system, especially after he had a 16.20 ERA in AA.
Nate Cornejo retired at the ripe age of 24.
-Schotz
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