As we all know, the Nationals bullpen was bad in 2026. The unit set the all time record for blown saves and imploded in spectacular fashion many times. There is no denying that the Nats bullpen needs outside help. However, I do think there are some internal options with a lot of upside.
The three pitchers I will talk about today all have elite stuff, but have yet to put it all together yet. I would be surprised if all three of these pitchers were good in 2027, but I think at least one will have a breakout
year. Riley Cornelio, Yovanny Cruz and Luis Perales are the three pitchers I will be breaking down today.
Cornelio will be the first pitcher I talk about because he was the most effective in 2026. In 36.2 MLB innings this season, Cornelio showed that he can generate whiffs at a high level. He struck out 25% of hitters as a rookie this season and generated whiffs at a 34.5% clip. The headliner of his arsenal is a filthy 85 MPH slider which hitters swung and missed at over half the time.
That slider gives him a truly elite pitch to build around. When he came to the big leagues, Cornelio only threw a fastball and slider. However, he introduced a cutter that he really started to lean on in September. During the last month of the season, Cornelio threw his cutter nearly 30% of the time.
The cutter proved to be a good bridge between his fastball and slider. With his new cutter, his filthy slider and a fastball that averages 96.5 MPH, Cornelio has the arsenal to dominate. However, control remains a big question mark here. Cornelio walked 18.1% of hitters, which is simply too high. Whenever he was put in higher leverage spots, the control would make him quite unreliable.
Even in September, when he posted a 1.62 ERA, his walk rate was still over 14%. For Cornelio to truly break out, I need to see that number in the 10-12% region. That was actually where his walk rate was throughout his minor league career, so I have some faith. In 2026, Cornelio posted a 3.68 ERA with a 4.00 FIP, but that could be so much better if he can control the walks.
All three of these pitchers are flamethrowers, but Yovanny Cruz has the biggest velocity of the group. This season, Cruz averaged 99.8 MPH on his 4-seamer and 100 on his sinker. Even in this era of velocity, averaging 100 is rare. That heat makes the 27 year old Cruz stand out.
It is a big reason why the Nats acquired him as part of the return for Luis Garcia. Cruz showed flashes this season, but there is still a lot of room for growth. On the year, Cruz posted a 5.06 ERA in 17 outings, with that number spiking to 6.75 once he got to DC.
However, I am still excited about his stuff. His fastball may light up the radar gun, but I think his slider is his best pitch. He throws it 49% of the time and with a 118 stuff+rating, it has all the ingredients to be an elite slider. Cruz throws the pitch in the low-90’s but still gets true slider movement.
When he arrived in DC, the fastball was actually Cruz’s biggest issue. Despite the velocity, his fastball shape is not good. With hitters seeing 100 more and more, a flat triple digit fastball is not that big of a challenge. After being sent down to AAA, Cruz came back with a new look sinker. I think the sinker will be his primary heater moving forward because of the nasty movement. It will also help him generate more ground balls.
Like Cornelio, Cruz also has some control issues, though his 12.9% walk rate is not as high. Yovanny Cruz has all the tools on paper to be an elite reliever. Now, it will be about putting it all together. Despite his nasty stuff, he only struck out 21.4% of hitters. With a more trustworthy fastball at his disposal, I think we could see a major step in the right direction for Cruz.
The last pitcher to discuss is Luis Perales. Honestly, I still have a lot of doubts here, but he has the raw stuff to succeed in the bullpen. To be blunt, Perales was awful when he got his MLB opportunity. He gave up 14 earned runs in 11 innings, which amounts to an 11.45 ERA. Walks and homers doomed the right hander, with Perales allowing 5 homers and issuing 13 walks.
Despite looking terrible in the show, you could still see brief glimpses of his nasty stuff. Perales’ fastball averaged over 99 MPH and his overall whiff rate was very good at 33.6%. However, there is more to pitching than just missing bats. When he wasn’t missing bats, Perales was either walking people or giving up hard contact.
The only pitch that proved to be effective was his splitter. Batters onlyhit .063 on the split with a 48.9% whiff rate. That offering has insane downward action and Perales sells it well with his arm action. It is the one pitch that is big league caliber at the moment.
However, the split is best as a chase pitch. That means he will need to find weapons to set up the splitter. In the big leagues, Perales’ fastball and cutter were lit up. His fastball command was not even close to good enough. The heater was either uncompetitive or right down the middle. Perales can consistently throw strikes with the cutter, but that is the one pitch in his arsenal that does not stand out from a stuff perspective.
Perales still has a long way to go, but he will get another shot at some point. With 13 strikeouts in 11 innings, he showed he can generate whiffs. However, he still has a lot of work to do. His 3.64 ERA in AAA gives you some hope, but he looked raw as sushi in the big leagues. Despite that, I would not give up on such an electric arm so quickly. I don’t think he will stick as a starter, but he has the stuff to be a very good reliever.
All three of these arms have major flaws, but they have big time stuff as well. I think at least one of these three will be an established high leverage arm this time next year. Out of Cornelio, Cruz and Perales, who do you think will take the next step in 2027?
