The 2026 baseball season has already seen three players with Pikes Peak region ties – Billy Cook, Lewis-Palmer (Pittsburgh), Griffin Jax , Air Force (Tampa Bay) and Paul Skenes, Air Force (Pittsburgh) – appear in Major League games.

These players are grinding it out in the minors, hoping to someday join them:

Riley Cornelio, RHP

Pine Creek | Rochester Red Wings (Washington Nationals Triple-A)

Cornelio ascended three levels in 2025, earning Nationals’ Minor League Pitcher of the Year honors and finishing the year in Triple-A – the doorstep of the major leagues.

Now he’s loudly knocking on the door.

The Pine Creek grad appeared in two spring training games for Washington, pitching five innings in which he gave up one run, struck out seven and walked none.

Now, through two Triple-A starts in 2026, the 25-year-old righthander has struck out 13 in 9 1/3 innings, allowing five hits and carrying a 2.89 ERA.

The Nationals added Cornelio, who pitched in college at TCU, to the 40-man roster during the offseason.

Sam Kulasingam, OF/INF

Air Force | Northwest Arkansas Naturals (Kansas City Royals Double-A)

The two-time Tony Gwynn Award winner as the Mountain West Player of the Year was Kansas City’s High-A Player of the Year last year after hitting .291/.375/.393. He has opened this season in Double-A and is off to a scorching start in five games, hitting .368/.458/.632 with three extra-base hits, three stolen bases and just two strikeouts in 24 plate appearances.

Position flexibility has always been one of the switch-hitting Kulasingam’s strengths, and this year he has made starts at first base and right field after spending most of last season at second base.

The Naturals have batted the 24-year-old Air Force graduate third in the order in every game this season.

Trey Gregory-Alford, RHP

Coronado | Rancho Cucamonga Quakes (Los Angeles Angels Low-A)

Returning to Low-A after making his full-season debut at the level with six starts in the latter part of 2025, Gregory-Alford opened the season with a five-inning scoreless start in which he allowed just a pair of hits.

Armed with a 100 MPH fastball, Gregory-Alford was ranked as the No. 9 prospect in the Angels system prior to the season by MLB Pipeline. Still 19 (his birthday is May 4), the 6-foot-5 hurler’s path to the majors does not figure to be quick. But his prospect ranking and early results (a 1.78 ERA through seven minor league starts) indicate he’s headed the right direction.

Jay Thomason, IF/OF

Air Force | Cedar Rapids Kernels (Minnesota Twins High-A)

A foot injury limited the all-time Mountain West home run leader to 64 total games last year across several levels, but he was solid in that time with a .244/.397/.477 slash line.

Thomason’s top level last year was High-A, where he has returned to open 2026.

Thus far the Kernels have played him at first base and DH this season, but he has 14-plus pro starts at second base, third base and left field as well.