Robert Corniel

Robert De Jesús Corniel Núñez

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 3", Weight 190 lb.

• Born June 23, 1995 in Tamboril, Santiago Dominican Republic

BR register page

Biographical Information

Robert Corniel has pitched in Nippon Pro Baseball and for the Dominican national team.

He was signed by Houston Astros scouts Felix Francisco, Rafael Belen and Jose Ortiz. He split 2013 between the DSL Astros (2 R in 6 IP) and GCL Astros (2 R in 2 IP), striking out 9 in 8 innings but also walking 9. He missed 2014 due to injury. In '15, he was 0-2 with a 5.27 ERA for the DSL Astros Blue. Back with the same team in 2016, he had a 1-2, 3.00 record.

Corniel split 2017 between the Tri-City ValleyCats (Sv, 0 R in 6 1/3 IP) and Quad Cities River Bandits (1-0, Sv, 5.08 in 15 G). He pitched in 2018 for Quad Cities (0-1, 5.84 in 9 G) and the Buies Creek Astros (6.75 ERA in 6 G), with 28 K and 14 BB in 19 IP overall. Washing out of the Astros chain, he went to the Hiroshima Carp Dominican Academy and they wound up signing him.

The Tamboril native spent 2020 in the minor Western League, going 1-1 with a 3.00 ERA. He made it to Hiroshima's top club by 2021 and was a reliable reliever, going 1-2 with a 3.82 ERA in 50 games, fanning 79 in 61 1/3 innings (his first NPB K was Koji Chikamoto ) He threw a pitch timed at 165 km/hr (102.5 mph) on June 20, tying Shohei Ohtani's NPB record; Thyago Vieira later broke their mark. In his Dominican Winter League debut, he had a 11.57 ERA in four games for the Leones del Escogido.

In 2022, he had a 3.52 ERA in 12 games for the Carp, splitting time between the top team and the minors. The next season, he became a starting pitcher, going 1-4 with a 5.10 ERA. He returned to the bullpen and had a 2.65 ERA in 16 outings in 2024, also posting a 0.55 ERA with six saves in the minors. He tied Haruki Ohmichi for 6th in the WL in saves.

Making the Dominican team for the 2024 Premier 12, he made two appearances. Relieving Joely Rodríguez in the 7th with a 2-1 lead over Cuba, two on and no outs, he got out of the jam by striking out Erisbel Arruebarruena and getting fellow NPB player Alfredo Despaigne to hit into a double play. In the 8th, he retired Ariel Martínez and Yadir Drake, walked Yoelkis Guibert and got Rafael Viñales on a grounder. Diego Castillo closed out the win. His other game was versus South Korea. He again replaced Rodríguez in the 7th, this time with a 6-4 lead. He struck out Dong-hee Yoon, retired Seong-han Park, walked Won-jun Choi, plunked Chang-ki Hong and got Min-jae Shin to hit into a force. After Seung-yeup Na singled to open the 8th, Castillo came in; he let the inherited run score as Korea rallied to win.