Pirates A to Z: Carmen Mlodzinski turned move to bullpen into high-leverage role as rookie

During the offseason, the Tribune-Review will offer Pirates A to Z, an alphabetical, player-by-player look at the 40-man roster.

Player: Carmen Mlodzinski

Position: Relief pitcher

Throws: Right

Age: 24

Height: 6-foot-2

Weight: 220 pounds

2023 MLB statistics: Went 3-3 with a 2.25 ERA and 1.28 WHIP, one save, 34 strikeouts and 18 walks in 36 innings over 35 appearances.

Contract: Not yet eligible for arbitration.

Acquired: Selected in the first round (No. 31 overall) of the 2020 MLB Draft.

This past season: After two seasons as a starter in the minors, the Pirates decided to move Mlodzinski to the bullpen at the conclusion of spring training.

“You don’t like to take guys that were starters in the minor leagues and make ’em relievers,” Pirates manager Derek Shelton said. “Our group identified that we thought this was a guy we thought could pitch at the back end of the game, and not only pitch at the back end of the game, but do it multi-inning or multiple-up situations. Those guys are extremely important, so I give our pitching group a ton of credit that they had the confidence that we can do that.”

His first month as a reliever was rocky, as opponents hit Mlodzinski at a .255 clip. He posted a 4.09 ERA in 11 outings in April, but seemed to hit his stride the following month. Mlodzinski was 2-1 with a 2.53 ERA and 1.13 WHIP, with 14 strikeouts against four walks in 10 2/3 innings in May, then had seven strikeouts against one walk in June.

When lefty Rob Zastryzny was placed on the 15-day injured list in mid-June, the Pirates turned to the second of their 2020 first-round picks. Mlodzinski left Des Moines for Milwaukee on June 16, becoming the first draft pick by Ben Cherington as Pirates general manager to make his major league debut.

No. 23 @Pirates prospect Carmen Mlodzinski notches his first MLB strikeout on three pitches! pic.twitter.com/1BbJrlKbU0

— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) June 17, 2023

It came in the sixth inning of a 5-4 loss to the Brewers. Mlodzinski recorded his first career strikeout by getting Blake Perkins looking on three pitches, the last a 96.8 mph four-seam fastball down the middle. The next batter, Joey Wiemer, drove a fastball down the middle over the right-center fence for a homer.

If that was an eye opener, Mlodzinski’s performance at Miami on June 22 proved to be a turning point. He inherited a bases-loaded situation in the eighth and gave up a two-run single to Bryan De La Cruz and a three-run homer to Garrett Cooper, blowing the lead in a 6-4 loss.

Three days later, Mlodzinski inherited two runners but got Jorge Soler to ground into a forceout at home plate and gave up a single to Yuli Gurriel, who was thrown out at second.

Over his next 13 appearances, Mlodzinski then posted an 0.61 ERA and held opponents to a .177/.263/.196 slash line while recording 14 strikeouts against six walks with no home runs allowed.

“You could really see him starting to grow up right in front of us,” Shelton said, “which is really cool.”

Mlodzinski earned Shelton’s trust in high-leverage situations. A seminal moment came against the Philadelphia Phillies on July 28 at PNC Park.

With All-Star closer David Bednar having pitched the previous two nights, Shelton turned to Mlodzinski with the bases loaded, two outs and the Phillies leading by one run in the top of the ninth inning. Adding to the pressure: Two-time NL MVP Bryce Harper was at the plate.

“It’s definitely a thought in your head that you don’t want him to beat you in that situation because of how successful he’s been and how clutch of a player he is,” Mlodzinski said. “But in the bullpen you’ve got to execute pitches. You come in, and you execute pitches and do your job.”

Mlodzinski threw cutters on four of his eight warmup pitches, suspecting it might be the first pitch called. Mlodzinski threw a 93-mph cutter inside and belt-high, and the left handed-hitting Harper connected just off the barrel with an inside-out cut swing for a line drive to left field. The ball left Harper’s bat at an exit velocity of 102.8 mph, sailing 317 feet and directly into the glove of Bryan Reynolds to end the frame.

Shelton touted the importance of Mlodzinski’s performance against Harper and the Phillies, which marked six consecutive relief outings — all of which came in the seventh, eighth or ninth inning — without allowing an earned run.

“Talk about somebody who’s not scared,” Shelton said. “He’s not scared. He’s gonna go right after you with his stuff — good, bad or indifferent. … He continues to show that he can pitch in leverage situations, over the course of the West Coast road trip and even before that. He’s pushed into the back of the bullpen. He’s pushed himself into a situation where he can get both right-handers and left-handers out.”

Mlodzinski took comfort in knowing he could handle a high-leverage moment against a superstar like Harper.

“You have a guy you don’t want to necessarily beat you, but you’ve still got to get him out — because it’s bases loaded in a close game — so you just make sure you’re comfortable in those situations,” Mlodzinski said. “Having that in my past and being able to look back and say, ‘This is how aggressive he was.’ Also, I can keep a tab on Harper. Last time I faced him, it was with the bases loaded in an important situation, and this is the result we got.”

It prepared Mlodzinski for his next game against the Phillies, when he inherited two runners with one out in the seventh inning. He struck out Nick Castellanos, but Harper lined a single down the first-base line to drive in a run. Alec Bohm followed with a single to right to score another and give the Phillies a 4-2 lead before Mlodzinski struck out Trea Turner. Mlodzinski retired the side in order in the eighth inning, finishing with two hits, three strikeouts and no earned runs in 1 2/3 innings.

“Everybody in this bullpen and on this pitching staff is going to be put in situations that are high-leverage, high-pressure situations,” Mlodzinski said. “Obviously, I’m grateful for the opportunity to be put into that. Ultimately, the execution of the pitch is something I was happy with.”

Coming into play, Carmen Mlodzinski had a 1.96 ERA across 18 1/3 innings in the second half. This may have been his most impressive outing of them all.

Mlodzinski retires the top of the Yankees' order, striking out Judge on three pitches in the process.

Pirates lead, 3-2. pic.twitter.com/r1avd12ckD

— Justice delos Santos (@justdelossantos) September 17, 2023

Mlodzinski also came up big in ninth inning of the greatest comeback in Pirates’ history, as they rallied from a nine-run deficit for a 13-12 comeback win at Reds on Sept. 23.

With All-Star closer David Bednar having pitched the previous two nights, Mlodzinski entered a pressure-packed situation in the ninth. The Reds countered by having Joey Votto pinch-hit, and the six-time All-Star and 2010 NL MVP singled to right. TJ Friedl followed with a double down the right field line to put runners on second and third with no outs.

Pinch hitter Jake Fraley drove in Votto with a groundout to second to cut it to 13-12. But Mlodzinski won an 11-pitch at bat against Elly De La Cruz by getting him to chase a sweeper inside and got Jonathan India to fly out to Jack Suwinski in center for the final out and his first career MLB save.

“I thought it was a really cool game, seeing the offense come back like that,” Mlodzinski said. “Full kudos to the offense for giving us a chance to win the game in the end.”

Carmen Mlodzinski throws the final pitch as the Pittsburgh Pirates complete the greatest comeback in their history!

Trailing 9-0, they hang on to win 13-12 vs Cincinnati Reds!

Greg Brown radio ???? call:#LetsGoBucs pic.twitter.com/4ZfeZd4OQS

— 1986-92 Pittsburgh Pirates (@1992Pirates) September 24, 2023

Carmen Mlodzinski's stuff is so nasty it can even fool umps

Mlodzinski now has a 2.29 ERA this season in 35.1 IP

83.5 MPH sweeper, 2585 RPM, 43 inVB, 15 inHB pic.twitter.com/aS4LqSieGV

— Platinum Ke’Bryan (@PlatinumKey13) September 29, 2023

The future: Mlodzinski showed remarkable consistency for a rookie, as his splits were almost identical against right-handed hitters (.213/.310/.320) and lefties (.214/.308/.304).

His four-seam fastball had an average velocity of 95.7 mph, which ranked in the 79th percentile, per Statcast, and held hitters to a .193 average. He combined that with a sweeper, changeup and cutter for a four-pitch mix that is similar to a starter’s repertoire.

Given his background and the Pirates’ lack of starting pitching depth, they could stretch him out to become a starter again. But Mlodzinski was 6-8 with a 4.78 ERA in 105 1/3 innings at Double-A Altoona in 2022, and didn’t make any starts at Triple-A Indianapolis.

He was so effective in the bullpen role that Mlodzinski put himself in position to be a high-leverage reliever, showing he could complement Colin Holderman as a setup man for Bednar.