Carmen Alexander Młodzinski (''muh-jin-ski''; born February 19, 1999) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...

of Major League Baseball (MLB).

Amateur career

Mlodzinski attended and graduated from

Hilton Head Island High School Hilton Head Island High School (shortened to Hilton Head High, HHIHS, or HHH) is a State school#United States, public high school within the Beaufort County School District, located in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, United States. The high s ...

in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. In 2017, his senior season, he was named the South Carolina 4A Player of the Year. After informing professional scouts that he would be honoring his college commitment to the University of South Carolina, he went undrafted in the

2017 Major League Baseball draft The 2017 Major League Baseball (MLB) First-Year Player Draft began on June 12, 2017. The draft assigned amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The first 36 picks, including the first round and compensatory picks, were broadcast on MLB Network on J ...

and thus enrolled at USC to play college baseball for the South Carolina Gamecocks. In 2018, Mlodzinski's freshman year at USC, he pitched innings, going 3–6 with a 5.52 ERA and 21 walks and 43 strikeouts over 19 games (seven starts). As a sophomore in 2019, he was the Gamecocks' opening day starter. However, during his third start of the year, he suffered a foot injury and missed the remainder of the 2019 season. That summer, he returned from the injury, playing for the Falmouth Commodores of the

Cape Cod Baseball League The Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL or Cape League) is a collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league located on Cape Cod in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. One of the nation's premier collegiate summer leagues, the league boasts over one thousan ...

and pitching to a 1.83 ERA and 43 strikeouts as opposed to five walks over innings. Mlodzinski entered his redshirt sophomore season in 2020 as a top prospect for the

2020 Major League Baseball draft The 2020 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft took place on June 10 and 11, 2020. The draft assigned amateur baseball players to Major League Baseball (MLB) teams. The draft order was set based on the reverse order of the 2019 MLB season ...

. He pitched to a 2.84 ERA over four starts before the college baseball season was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Professional career

Mlodzinski was selected by the

with the 31st overall pick of the draft. He signed with the Pirates on July 2, 2020, for a $2.05 million bonus. He did not play a minor league game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season caused by the pandemic. Mlodzinski made his professional debut in 2021 with the Greensboro Grasshoppers of the High-A East. He was placed on the

injured list In Major League Baseball (MLB), the injured list (IL) is a method for teams to remove their injured players from the roster in order to summon healthy players. Before the 2019 season, it was known as the disabled list (DL). General guidelines ...

on July 12 with a shoulder injury, and was activated on August 14. He returned to the injured list once again on September 9, but was activated only one week later. Over 14 starts with Greensboro, Mlodzinski went 2–3 with a 3.93 ERA and 64 strikeouts over innings. Following the end of Greensboro's season, he was promoted to the

Indianapolis Indians The Indianapolis Indians are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates. They are located in Indianapolis, Indiana, and play their home games at Victory Field, which open ...

of the Triple-A East, with whom he pitched two innings. He was selected to play in the Arizona Fall League for the Peoria Javelinas after the season. He was assigned to the Altoona Curve of the Double-A Eastern League for the 2022 season. In early May, he was placed on the injured list due to a shoulder injury but was activated a week later. Over 27 games (22 starts), he went 6–8 with a 4.78 ERA and 111 strikeouts over innings. To open the 2023 season, he was assigned to the

of the Triple-A

International League The International League (IL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the United States. Along with the Pacific Coast League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major League Baseball ...

. In 19 games for Indianapolis, he registered a 3.16 ERA with 31 strikeouts and 1 save in innings pitched. On June 16, 2023, Mlodzinski was selected to the

40-man roster A Major League Baseball roster is a list of players who are allowed, by league agreement, to play for a Major League Baseball (MLB) team. Each MLB team maintains two rosters: an active roster of players eligible to participate in an MLB game, and ...

and promoted to the major leagues for the first time after

Rob Zastryzny Robert John Zastryzny ( born March 26, 1992) is a Canadian-American professional baseball pitcher in the Milwaukee Brewers organization. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Chicago Cubs, New York Mets, Los Angeles Ange ...

was placed on the injured list.

References

External links

South Carolina Gamecocks bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mlodzinski, Carmen 1999 births Living people People from Hilton Head, South Carolina Baseball players from South Carolina Major League Baseball pitchers Pittsburgh Pirates players South Carolina Gamecocks baseball players Falmouth Commodores players Greensboro Grasshoppers players Indianapolis Indians players Peoria Javelinas players Altoona Curve players