Robert Corniel (born June 23, 1995) is a Dominican

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

for the

Hiroshima Toyo Carp The is a professional baseball team based in Hiroshima, Japan. They compete in the Central League of Nippon Professional Baseball. The team is primarily owned by the Matsuda family, led by , who is a descendant of Mazda founder Jujiro Matsuda ...

Nippon Professional Baseball or NPB is the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called , meaning ''Professional Baseball''. Outside Japan, it is often just referred to as "Japanese baseball". The roots of the league can be traced back to the formation ...

(NPB).

Career

Houston Astros

On July 16, 2012, Corniel signed with the

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston, Texas. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division, having moved to the division in 2013 after ...

as an international free agent. He spent his first professional season split between the

Dominican Summer League Astros The Dominican Summer League Astros, or DSL Astros, is a minor league baseball team of the Dominican Summer League, and a Rookie-level affiliate of the Houston Astros. They are located in Boca Chica, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. From 201 ...

and rookie-level

Gulf Coast Astros The Florida Complex League Astros are a Rookie-level affiliate of the Houston Astros, competing in the Florida Complex League of Minor League Baseball. Prior to the 2021 season, the team was known as the Gulf Coast League Astros. The team plays ...

, posting a cumulative 4.50 ERA with 9 strikeouts in 8.0 innings pitched across 10 appearances. Corniel missed the 2014 season due to an injury. He returned to action in 2015 with the DSL Astros, recording a 5.27 ERA with 13 strikeouts in 13.2 innings pitched across 8 games (1 start). He spent the 2016 season with the team as well, appearing in 18 games and posting a 3.00 ERA with 29 strikeouts in 36.0 innings pitched. Corniel split the 2017 season with the Low-A

Tri-City ValleyCats The Tri-City ValleyCats (often shortened to Cats) are a professional independent baseball team based in Troy, New York. The Tri-City name refers to the three nearby cities of Albany, Schenectady, and Troy which make up New York State's Capital D ...

and Single-A

Quad Cities River Bandits The Quad Cities River Bandits are a Minor League Baseball team of the Midwest League and the High-A affiliate of the Kansas City Royals. Their home games are played at Modern Woodmen Park (formerly John O'Donnell Stadium) in Davenport, Iowa, one ...

, registering a cumulative 4.15 ERA with 36 strikeouts and 2 saves in 34.2 innings pitched across 18 games. In 2018, he pitched in 15 games split between Quad Cities and the High-A

Buies Creek Astros The Fayetteville Woodpeckers are a Minor League Baseball team of the Carolina League and the Single-A affiliate of the Houston Astros. They are located in Fayetteville, North Carolina, and play their home games at Segra Stadium. From 2017 to ...

, but struggled to a 6.16 ERA with 28 strikeouts in 19.0 innings of work. On June 15, 2018, Corniel was released by the Astros organization.

Hiroshima Toyo Carp

On September 29, 2020, Corniel signed with the

(NPB). Corniel made his NPB debut on April 1, 2021. On June 20, Corniel tied

Shohei Ohtani , nicknamed "Shotime", is a Japanese professional baseball pitcher, designated hitter and outfielder for the Los Angeles Angels of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played for the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters of Nippon Professional ...

for the fastest recorded pitch in NPB history (102.5 mph). The record was later broken on August 13 by

Thyago Vieira Thyago Vieira Lucio (born 1 July 1993) is a Brazilian professional baseball pitcher in the Milwaukee Brewers organization. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Seattle Mariners and Chicago White Sox and in Nippon Professional B ...

of the

Yomiuri Giants The are a Japanese professional baseball team competing in Nippon Professional Baseball's Central League. Based in Bunkyo, Tokyo, they are one of two professional baseball teams based in Tokyo, the other being the Tokyo Yakult Swallows. They ...

, who recorded a pitch that clocked in at 103.1 mph. In 50 appearances for the team, he posted a 1–2 record and 3.82 ERA with 79 strikeouts in 61.1 innings pitched. In 2022, Corniel made 12 appearances for the Carp, recording a 3.52 ERA with 19 strikeouts in 15.1 innings of work.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Corniel, Robert 1995 births Living people Hiroshima Toyo Carp players Nippon Professional Baseball pitchers Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in Japan Gulf Coast Astros players Dominican Summer League Astros players Quad Cities River Bandits players Tri-City ValleyCats players Buies Creek Astros players Leones del Escogido players