Mlodzinski continues to evolve
Stud bullpen pitcher eager to build on success of 2023 season
BRADENTON, Fla. — Much has been made of the Pirates’ surprising addition of Aroldis Chapman in late January and what it will mean for their bullpen, his impressive arm and the dynamic duo formed with David Bednar at the back end.
Understandable attention, all of it.
But during the past few weeks, it’s been equally as impressive to observe the growth of a returning reliever, one who similarly came out of nowhere last season and blossomed into something special — Carmen Mlodzinski.
A converted starter, Mlodzinski was a quick study with bullpen life, the need to be aggressive and not save himself for anything matching his no-nonsense personality. In 36 innings across 35 games, Mlodzinski went 3-3 with a 2.25 ERA, walking 18, striking out 34 and producing a 1.278 WHIP.
The consistent results allowed the Pirates to use Mlodzinski a few different ways, sliding between the sixth, seventh, eighth and ninth innings, eight times working more than a single frame and facing hitters swinging from both sides of the plate.
“We do have a pretty deep bullpen from what I understand,” Mlodzinski said. “It’s been cool working around those guys.”
One of the things that made Mlodzinski effective last season was his fourseam fastball, which averaged 95.7 mph and generated a 20.4% whiff rate. He throws it from a lower arm slot, hiding the ball well and netting a .193 batting average against with the pitch.
Similar to others on the Pirates staff, Mlodzinski also thrived segmenting his slider into a sweeper and cutter, the former his second-most frequently used pitch behind the fastball
(22.0%) and the latter achieving a better whiff rate (23.3%) than anything else that came out of his hand.
The balance allows Mlodzinski to handle hitters from each side of the plate. He also got better with time. From June 25 through the end of the regular season, Mlodzinski had a 1.72 ERA, while opponents hit just .212 against him.
“We’re seeing the evolution of his pitches, how he’s going to use them and kind of pairing that down from when he was a starter and feeling like he had to pitch deeper in games,” Pirates manager Derek Shelton said.
This offseason, Mlodzinski “took a little time to reset,” which involved, in part, visiting Jackson Hole, Wyo., and playing his guitar a lot. (A big blues, jazz and jam band fan, Mlodzinski also plays the piano but didn’t have access to one there.)
It was more mental than anything, as Mlodzinski tried to step back, reflect on what he accomplished as a rookie and also embrace returning to the Pirates this spring, eager to build on the success he experienced in 2024.
“It’s been a lot about the mechanical things that I learned through the ’23 season,” Mlodzinski said. “Being in the bullpen, in a new role and what does that look like on my body? Pitch design and trying to shape my stuff a little bit and make everything more efficient.”
Another goal for Mlodzinski remains being available from wire-to-wire. He spent time on the injured list with right elbow soreness, and the Hilton Head Island, S.C., native hopes to avoid similar issues in 2024.
“Going through last season, you have to rewire your thinking a little bit in terms of, ‘How much volume do I need?’” he said.
So far this spring, Mlodzinski — who has pitched three scoreless innings — has saved the bullets. If there’s one thing he learned from last year, it was that life in the bullpen could tempt him to overthrow.
Wanting to stay healthy and again play a big part in the Pirates bullpen, Mlodzinski
has been mindful of his spring workload, joking recently that, no, he was not yet in the best shape of his life. Plenty of time to work up to that.
“Every offseason is gonna be a little bit different,” Mlodzinski said. “It’s understanding what your role is gonna be and what the organization is gonna want out of you coming into the year.”
That part should be easy. Whatever happens with Bednar and Chapman, the Pirates want Mlodzinski to keep growing his profile as a reliever, hence why they never thought about shifting him back into a starting role.
Some guys are just better as relievers, and Mlodzinski could be on the cusp of enjoying a breakout season as part of the deepest position group on the team.
“Being able to take a step back and watch and learn from those guys and try to apply it to what I’m doing, it’s gonna help a lot,” Mlodzinski said. “Our whole bullpen can grow from that.
“You also just have a lot more confidence because there are so many good guys around you and so much versatility that you know the team is gonna put you in the best possible spot when you go into the game.”