Carmen Mlodzinski

Carmen Mlodzinski
Pittsburgh Pirates – No. 50
Pitcher
Born: (1999-02-19) February 19, 1999
Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, U.S.
Bats: Right
Throws: Right
MLB debut
June 16, 2023, for the Pittsburgh Pirates
MLB statistics
(through 2025 season)
Win–loss record13–16
Earned run average3.25
Strikeouts169
Stats at Baseball Reference 
Teams

Carmen Alexander Mlodzinski (muh-jin-ski; born February 19, 1999) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Pittsburgh Pirates of Major League Baseball (MLB).

Amateur career

Mlodzinski attended and graduated from Hilton Head Island High School in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. In 2017, his senior season, he was named the South Carolina 4A Player of the Year.[1] After informing professional scouts that he would be honoring his college commitment to the University of South Carolina,[2][3] he went undrafted in the 2017 Major League Baseball draft and thus enrolled at USC to play college baseball for the South Carolina Gamecocks.[4]

In 2018, Mlodzinski's freshman year at USC, he pitched 45+2⁄3 innings, going 3–6 with a 5.52 ERA and 21 walks and 43 strikeouts over 19 games (seven starts).[5] As a sophomore in 2019, he was the Gamecocks' opening day starter.[6] However, during his third start of the year, he suffered a foot injury and missed the remainder of the 2019 season.[7] That summer, he returned from the injury, playing for the Falmouth Commodores of the Cape Cod Baseball League and pitching to a 1.83 ERA and 43 strikeouts as opposed to five walks over 34+1⁄3 innings.[8][9][10] Mlodzinski entered his redshirt sophomore season in 2020 as a top prospect for the 2020 Major League Baseball draft.[11] He pitched to a 2.84 ERA over four starts before the college baseball season was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[12]

Professional career

Mlodzinski was selected by the Pittsburgh Pirates with the 31st overall pick of the draft.[13] He signed with the Pirates on July 2, 2020, for a $2.05 million bonus.[14] He did not play a minor league game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season caused by the pandemic.[15]

Mlodzinski made his professional debut in 2021 with the Greensboro Grasshoppers of the High-A East.[16] He was placed on the injured list on July 12 with a shoulder injury, and was activated on August 14.[17] He returned to the injured list once again on September 9, but was activated only one week later.[18] Over 14 starts with Greensboro, Mlodzinski went 2–3 with a 3.93 ERA and 64 strikeouts over 50+1⁄3 innings.[19] Following the end of Greensboro's season, he was promoted to the Indianapolis Indians of the Triple-A East, with whom he pitched two innings.[20] He was selected to play in the Arizona Fall League for the Peoria Javelinas after the season.[21] He was assigned to the Altoona Curve of the Double-A Eastern League for the 2022 season.[22] In early May, he was placed on the injured list due to a shoulder injury but was activated a week later.[23] Over 27 games (22 starts), he went 6–8 with a 4.78 ERA and 111 strikeouts over 105+1⁄3 innings.[24] To open the 2023 season, Mlodzinski was assigned to the Indianapolis Indians of the Triple-A International League.[25]

On June 16, 2023, Mlodzinski was selected to the 40-man roster and promoted to the major leagues for the first time after Rob Zastryzny was placed on the injured list.[26] At the time of his promotion, he had pitched 19 games for Indianapolis and registered a 3.16 ERA with 31 strikeouts and one save in 25+2⁄3 innings pitched. Mlodzinski played the remainder of the season with the Pirates, but was placed on the injured list with elbow soreness, and made one rehab appearance with Indianapolis. Over 35 appearances for Pittsburgh, Mlodzinski went 3-3 with a 2.25 ERA and 34 strikeouts over 32 innings.[27]

Mlodzinski opened the 2024 season on the injured list with right elbow inflammation.[28] He was activated in April and optioned to Indianapolis.[29] In May, the Pirates promoted him back to the major leagues.[30] He was placed on the injured list on July 30 and activated on August 27. For the Pirates in 2024, Mlodzinski posted a 5–5 record and a 3.38 ERA with 46 strikeouts in 502⁄3 innings.

Mlodzinski opened the 2025 season as Pittsburgh's fifth starter.[31] He posted a 1-4 record and 5.67 ERA over nine starts before he was optioned to Indianapolis on May 21.[32] The Pirates recalled him to the major leagues on June 11 and moved him back into the bullpen.[33] Mlodzinski made a total of 34 appearances (12 starts) for Pittsburgh during the 2025 season and went 5-8 with a 3.55 ERA and 89 strikeouts across 99 innings.

References

  1. ^ Rayford, Sean (June 14, 2017). "Report: USC baseball signee says no to the pros". The State. Retrieved November 1, 2023.
  2. ^ "Why Seahawks' Mlodzinski Probably Won't Be Drafted Today – And Maybe Not At All". LowcoSports. June 13, 2017.
  3. ^ "Hilton Head Ace Chooses College Over MLB". June 20, 2017.
  4. ^ Caraviello, David (June 16, 2017). "No head coach is no deterrent for drafted baseball recruits planning to stick with Gamecocks". Post and Courier.
  5. ^ "Mlodzinski looks to replicate Gamecock great". TheBigSpur.
  6. ^ GamecockCentral.com, COLLYN TAYLOR (February 13, 2019). "CAROLINA BASEBALL: Weekend pitching rotation is set". The Times and Democrat.
  7. ^ Hadley, Greg (June 26, 2019). "Gamecocks' top pitcher lost a year to injury. Now he's healthy, stronger than ever". The State. Retrieved November 1, 2023.
  8. ^ "Carmen Mlodzinski focuses on consistency". Baseball Prospect Journal. February 5, 2020.
  9. ^ "Change in Carmen: 'I was trying to be somebody that I wasn't'". TheBigSpur.
  10. ^ "#40 Carmen Mlodzinski". pointstreak.com. Retrieved September 23, 2021.
  11. ^ "Top Draft Prospects". MLB.com.
  12. ^ Cloninger, David (April 8, 2020). "Gamecocks' coach: Coronavirus pandemic 'much more important than us playing baseball'". Post and Courier.
  13. ^ staff, From; Reports, Wire (June 12, 2020). "USC's Mlodzinski picked by Pirates on the first day of the MLB draft". The Sumter Item.
  14. ^ Stumpf, Alex; Sports, DK Pittsburgh (July 3, 2020). "Pirates sign 2020 first-rounder Carmen Mlodzinski, one pick left unsigned". WPXI.
  15. ^ "2020 Minor League Baseball Season Cancelled". MiLB.com.
  16. ^ "Four story lines to watch now that Pirates' minor league rosters are set". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
  17. ^ "Pirates Pipeline: How and why Braylon Bishop ultimately picked Pittsburgh". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
  18. ^ "Why Po-Yu Chen signed with the Pirates last year and what's next in his development". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
  19. ^ "Minors Matters: A look at how the Bucs' Top 10 prospects fared in 2021". October 5, 2021.
  20. ^ "Pirates' Carmen Mlodzinski: Transferred to Triple-A". CBS Sports. September 30, 2021. Retrieved January 4, 2026.
  21. ^ Callis, Jim; Mayo, Jonathan; Dykstra, Sam (October 6, 2021). "Arizona Fall League rosters 2021 prospect loaded". MLB.com. Retrieved November 18, 2025.
  22. ^ @YoungBucsPIT (April 7, 2022). "The Young Bucs take the field this week!" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  23. ^ "Pirates' Carmen Mlodzinski: Placed on injured list". CBS Sports. May 12, 2022. Retrieved November 18, 2025.
  24. ^ "Carmen Mlodzinski Stats, Fantasy & News".
  25. ^ Mayo, Jonathan (April 6, 2023). "Where Pirates top prospects are starting 2023 season". MLB.com. Retrieved November 8, 2025.
  26. ^ "Pirates' Carmen Mlodzinski: Selected to MLB bullpen". CBSSports.com. June 16, 2023. Retrieved June 16, 2023.
  27. ^ Stumpf, Alex. "Mlodzinski could be secret ingredient in Bucs' bullpen". MLB.com. Retrieved March 9, 2026.
  28. ^ https://triblive.com/sports/pirates-reliever-carmen-mlodzinski-seeks-return-to-solid-23-form/
  29. ^ Hiles, Noah. "Pirates activate Colin Holderman, option Carmen Mlodzinski to Triple-A". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved March 9, 2026.
  30. ^ Hiles, Noah. "Following rough start to 2nd big-league season, Carmen Mlodzinski continues to 'stack' up productive outings". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved March 9, 2026.
  31. ^ Stumpf, Alex. "Mlodzinski nabs Bucs' final rotation spot over Harrington". MLB.com. Retrieved March 9, 2026.
  32. ^ "Pirates' Carmen Mlodzinski: Ousted from rotation". CBS Sports. May 21, 2025. Retrieved March 9, 2026.
  33. ^ Hiles, Noah. "Pirates recall Carmen Mlodzinski, option Kyle Nicolas to Triple-A". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved March 9, 2026.
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