Cornelius crushes two homers for Smokies
It's been a rough season for Kevin Cornelius, but he had collected five hits in his previous four games to provide a flicker of hope. That flicker turned into a spotlight after his performance on Tuesday afternoon.The Cubs prospect homered twice and finished a triple shy of the cycle in
It's been a rough season for Kevin Cornelius, but he had collected five hits in his previous four games to provide a flicker of hope. That flicker turned into a spotlight after his performance on Tuesday afternoon.
The Cubs prospect homered twice and finished a triple shy of the cycle in Double-A Tennessee's 8-4 win over Montgomery at Smokies Stadium. He set a career high with four hits as part of his third multi-homer game in the Minor Leagues.
Gameday box score
"I've had some struggles recently and it felt good to have a good day at the plate," Cornelius said. "I wasn't doing well before, but I'm starting to figure it out now with help from my coaches and teammates."
Cornelius led off the bottom of the second inning after the Smokies sent seven men to the plate and scored twice in the first. He took two balls from Biscuits starter Logan Darnell before lifting the left-hander's next pitch over the right field wall for a solo homer.
"He got behind quick with two curveballs and Cruzie [Tennesee hitting coach Jacob Cruz] has been telling me to be aggressive on outside fastballs in positive counts, and that's what I was figuring when I was up there," Cornelius said. "He left it up and away and I went with it."
The 24-year-old first baseman came up again in the third , but Darnell got him in a 1-2 hole with a runner on first and one out. Unfazed by the count as a result of watching teammates like Charcer Burks -- who ranks ninth in the Southern League with a .293 batting average -- Cornelius went yard to center to extend the Smokies' lead to 5-0.
"I got behind and it was actually an inside pitch -- still a fastball -- and another thing we talked about is always try to hunt the fastball and react otherwise," Cornelius said. "I was still waiting for a fastball and happened to keep my hands in long enough and took it out to center.
"Watching other guys like Burks, I like to watch him when he's behind in the count. It seems like it never gets to him. I tried to take something he does and use it as my own."
After Fernando Baez struck him out in the fifth, Cornelius poked an RBI single to center off Brad Schreiber in the sixth before doubling to center in the eighth off Yoel Espinal. That left him a triple shy of the cycle with little chance of batting again, but Cornelius wouldn't trade either of his homers for the elusive triple, which would have been the third of his five-year career.
"I'm not the fastest guy, so chances are I probably wouldn't have gotten to third either way," he said.
After the Cubs added the 2013 31st-round pick in December's Rule 5 Draft, ending his four-year tenure in the Yankees organization, Cornelius broke his hand during the first week of live batting practice this spring and rehabbed in extended spring training before making his Double-A debut on May 12. He was hitting .158/.222/.193 through 63 plate appearances before going 9-for-19 in his past five games to pull that line up to a more respectable .237/.289/.408.
"It goes back to working with Cruz. I was doing a lot of different things wrong that I have not done in the past, and he cued on that and starting helping me out," Cornelius said. "We really focused on keeping my hands inside the ball, really just trying to enforce that and create the muscle memory. He's helped me a ton. We've been working on it for longer than the past couple weeks, but it's starting to show now."
With his Spring Training and April wiped out by the injury, Cornelius is just now finding his way at the plate after getting the number of live at-bats most players get leading up to the start of the season. He also had only 31 at-bats from May 24-June 30, but he's started five of the Smokies' last seven games as his bat has come back to life.
"I think the main deal is that as a hitter it's good to see pitches," Cornelius said. "The only thing I can say is I missed a lot of at-bats, and losing ABs means losing sight of the ball or not being comfortable. I wasn't as comfortable as I would've liked when I first got here, but I'm starting to feel a bit better."
Jason Vosler and Trey Martin both had three hits and two RBIs for Tennessee, while Carlos Penalver went 3-for-4 with two runs scored.
Cubs No. 14 prospect Duane Underwood (8-4) recorded his fourth win in six starts after allowing three runs on five hits and three walks while striking out six over 5 1/3 innings.
Nathan Lukes was 3-for-5 with a solo homer for Montgomery, which got two hits -- including a two-run homer -- from Dalton Kelly.
Chris Tripodi is an editor for MiLB.com. Follow him on Twitter @christripodi.
These 15 moments led to season No. 15 of Minor League road trips
Benjamin Hill travels the nation collecting stories about what makes Minor League Baseball unique. This excerpt from his newsletter is a mere taste of the smorgasbord of delights he offers every week. Read the full newsletter here, and subscribe to his newsletter here.
MiLB podcast crew makes Opening Day predictions
Check out the latest episodes of The Show Before the Show, MiLB.com's official podcast. A segment rundown is listed below, in case you want to skip to a particular section. Like the podcast? Subscribe, rate and review on Apple Podcasts. The podcast is also available via Spotify, Megaphone and other
Everything you need to know for Triple-A Opening Day
First, there was big league Opening Day. Now it's Triple-A's turn to take the spotlight. The Minor League season opens Friday when the Triple-A International League and Pacific Coast League seasons get underway for the first of MiLB’s two Opening Days. And right out of the gates, several of baseball's
Top prospects to watch at Triple-A -- one for each organization
It’s Triple-A’s turn up to bat on Friday. The regular season begins for the Minor Leagues’ highest level one day after the action starts on the Major League side. Fun fact: it’ll be the earliest start to a Minor League season since 1951 (March 27). Double-A, High-A and Single-A will
Here's where every Top 100 prospect is expected to start the season
The 2025 Opening Day prospect roster announcements began last week when the Cubs informed Matt Shaw (MLB No. 19) he was making the trip overseas to compete in the Tokyo Series. Roki Sasaki (No. 1) also received the good news, but his assignment was much less of a surprise. Now
Nationals prospect King joins MiLB podcast
Check out the latest episodes of The Show Before the Show, MiLB.com's official podcast. A segment rundown is listed below, in case you want to skip to a particular section. Like the podcast? Subscribe, rate and review on Apple Podcasts. The podcast is also available via Spotify, Megaphone and other
Here are the 2025 All-Spring Breakout Teams
Fifteen games, several jersey swaps and countless highlights later, the second edition of Spring Breakout has officially concluded – and it lived up to its billing. Of the 16 contests sprinkled across four days, only one game (Dodgers vs. Cubs) was rained out. Coincidentally, the Cubs were one of two
Rox young sluggers aim to bring pop back to Coors Field
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Coors Field may provide the best run-scoring environment in Major League Baseball, but the Rockies haven’t taken advantage of it in recent years. Even without adjusting for Coors, they have fielded offenses worse than the league average the past three seasons, and they scored the fewest runs
Astros brass sees potential in consistently 'underranked' farm system
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- The last time the Astros landed in the top 10 of MLB Pipeline’s farm system rankings was before the 2019 season. Since those rankings expanded to all 30 teams ahead of the 2020 season -- 11 lists in total -- they’ve never ranked higher than
Complete results and highlights from Spring Breakout
The second edition of MLB Spring Breakout is complete, and there was no shortage of highlights from the future stars of Major League Baseball over the four-day showcase. Here's a complete breakdown of the 16-game exhibition:
Southpaw Spring Breakout: White Sox future on display with Schultz, Smith
GLENDALE, Ariz. -- If all goes as planned for the White Sox, left-handers Hagen Smith and Noah Schultz won’t spend much time following each other to the mound in a single game. Schultz, the No. 1 White Sox prospect and No. 16 overall, per MLB Pipeline, and Smith, who is
In first pro game, Rainer offers pop, promise to Tigers fans
NORTH PORT, Fla. -- Bryce Rainer’s pro career consisted of workouts and batting practice until Sunday.
'Me and Brady on the dirt again': House, King reunite at Spring Breakout
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- The 2025 Spring Breakout was a flashback for Brady House and Seaver King. Over 10 years ago, the infielders were travel ball teammates in Georgia who shared the dream of making it to the Major Leagues. Now, they are top prospects in the same organization,
Lambert -- 'an adrenaline guy' -- hoping to be next Mets bullpen gem
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- Ryan Lambert loves throwing hard. He relishes the idea of getting to two strikes and blowing hitters away. “Get me in a game,” Lambert said, “cool things will happen.”
Stewart embraces Spring Breakout: 'What's not to love?'
PHOENIX -- Sal Stewart was one fired-up Reds prospect. On Sunday in the first inning during the organization's 9-7 Spring Breakout win over Brewers prospects, Stewart lifted a 2-2 pitch that sailed over the center fielder's head to the wall. Already not known as a speedster, he stumbled running between
Prospect Peña quietly drawing raves in Brewers' farm system
PHOENIX – Jesús Made was at the top of the Brewers’ lineup for Sunday’s 9-7 loss to the Reds in the finale of MLB’s four-day Spring Breakout, a fitting perch when you consider that the 17-year-old infielder is under a bright spotlight as MLB Pipeline’s No. 55 prospect. Made could
Brecht -- in 1st outing since '24 Draft -- wows at Spring Breakout
GLENDALE, Ariz. -- Sunday's Spring Breakout showcase was the perfect unveiling for Rockies No. 5 prospect Brody Brecht. A right-handed pitcher from the University of Iowa whom the Rockies selected 38th overall last summer, Brecht had a nice collegiate resume, an interesting backstory as a former wide receiver for the
Braves prospects show promise in Spring Breakout
NORTH PORT, Fla. -- As Terry Pendleton prepared to serve as the manager of the Braves prospect team that played the Tigers prospect team in a Spring Breakout game on Sunday afternoon, he said fans should be patient with John Gil and Luis Guanipa, a pair of teenagers who have
Yanks' Lagrange flashes triple-digit heat in Spring Breakout
SARASOTA, Fla. -- There was an audible “Ooh” from the crowd at Ed Smith Stadium, and Carlos Lagrange quickly glanced beyond the right-field wall, checking the velocity of the pitch he’d just thrown in Saturday’s 5-4 Spring Breakout loss to the Orioles. It had registered in the triple digits, and
Bradfield dedicates Spring Breakout performance to late friend
SARASOTA, Fla. -- It was about more than playing in the national spotlight. More than the dinner bet placed with an old college teammate earlier in the month. More than a game. As Enrique Bradfield Jr. slid home to score a run during the first inning of Saturday night’s Spring