On September 26, the Rangers recalled prospect Jose Corniell from Triple-A Round Rock, which could give the young righty a chance to make his MLB debut over the weekend for Texas. Cornell missed all of 2024 and a significant portion of 2025 due to injury. But over the last two and half months, the righty pitched very well.
A Look at Corniell
The Mariners were the team to sign 22-year-old pitching prospect Jose Corniell originally. Corniell signed with Seattle back in 2019 and was flipped to Texas a little over a year later in December 2020. Texas sent now-Tigers reliever Rafael Montero for Corniell.
Thanks to the axed 2020 Minor League season, Corniell didn’t pitch professionally until 2021. He put up good strikeout numbers down in Low-A, as he struck out 71 but also walked 34 over 66 frames with Down East.
Things began to come together for Corniell in 2023, as he struck out 119 over 101.2 combined innings between Low-A and High-A. However, he suffered an elbow injury in 2024 and ultimately required UCL reconstruction surgery.
He didn’t return to game action until July 2025, with the Rangers’ ACL affiliate. But it didn’t take long for Corniell to race up to the Majors.
Corniell joined Frisco (AA) in July and was sensational, as he struck out 20 and walked just one over 20 innings. He didn’t allow a home run and posted a tidy .45 ERA. Corniell then moved to Triple-A Round Rock in September and struck out 14 batters across three starts before yet another promotion.
The fastball plays up, while Corniell can work down with a changeup and slider.
The young right-hander showcased a slider with good shape and movement to it down in Triple-A. It had more sweep than gyro action. That pitch, which sat in the low-80s, breaks down and away from right-handed hitters with effectiveness.
With Round Rock, it had a very strong 52.2% Whiff% rate.
Corniell’s four-seam fastball doesn’t have a lot of induced break (12.7” mean IVB) on it. However, the 22-year-old got the four-seamer up to 98 MPH with Round Rock, and with a lower arm slot and high extension — Corniell maxed out seven inches of outward extension — that pitch should play up.
Additionally, the pieces are there for Corniell to create separation on the fastball, between a mid-to-high-80s changeup with fade and a cutter that sat in the high-80s to low-90s.
It should be noted that, as expected, the Rangers were careful with working Corniell back from elbow surgery. Once he returned to full-season ball, the 22-year-old primarily worked in three and four-inning starts. He did set a season-high on September 13 when he threw 5.1 innings against the Astros’ Triple-A affiliate.
The Rangers officially promoted Jose Corniell to the Majors on September 26.
Analysis
Texas has already exhausted two options on Corniell, with one more left. Thus, with just a few games left in 2025 and the Triple-A season complete, promoting Corniell can give the Rangers a quick look before 2026.
Corniell has a lot of pitches to work with and could be an option for the Rangers’ rotation next season. He was missing bats and getting outs.
Heading into 2026, the Rangers have Jacob deGrom and Nathan Eovaldi under contract. Jack Leiter and Jacob Latz will not be eligible for arbitration. Tyler Mahle, Merrill Kelly, and Patrick Corbin are all free agents.
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