‘It was great.’ Former Hilton Head, Gamecock pitcher makes MLB debut
Carmen Mlodzinski was living his childhood dream Friday night.
The Hilton Head High and South Carolina standout was called up to the major leagues earlier in the day by the Pittsburgh Pirates and made his debut at Miller Park against the Milwaukee Brewers.
Mlodzinski struck out two and gave up a solo homer in 1 ⅓ innings of work in the 5-4 loss to the Brewers.
“I thought he was really good,” Pirates manager Derek Shelton told reporters after the game. “He made one bad pitch. … He missed down with a pitch into a hitter’s sweet spot, but other than that, I thought he threw the ball really well. For it being his first outing in a game like this, in a good environment, I thought he did a really nice job.”
Mlodzinski was pitching in Indianapolis, the Pirates’ Triple-A affiliate, and didn’t arrive at the ballpark until about 90 minutes before the game according to reports. The right-hander struck out the first batter he faced, the Brewers’ Blake Perkins, on three pitches.
“It was great,” Mlodzinski told Pirates.com. “I’m just glad to have the opportunity to be at this level and to be able to compete with these guys. I’m very grateful for it.”
MLB Pipeline ranks Mlodzinski as the 23rd-best prospect in the Pirates organization.
Mlodzinski is the ninth former Gamecock currently on an MLB roster after Jackie Bradley Jr. was released this week. He becomes the second former USC player to be called up this month after TJ Hopkins made his MLB debut with the Cincinnati Reds.
Mlodzinski was the Class 4A Player of the Year and top-ranked high school player in SC coming out of Hilton Head Island in 2017. He signed with the Gamecocks and made 26 appearances during his college career.
The Pirates selected Mlodzinski with the 31st pick of the 2020 MLB Draft. He was South Carolina’s opening day starter during his final college season and went 2-1 with a 2.84 ERA in the COVID-shortened 2020 year.
Mlodzinski was a starter for much of his pitching career until this year when he was moved into the bullpen. He was 2-2 with 3.16 ERA and 31 strikeouts in 25 ⅔ innings at Indianapolis.
Over the past month, Mlodzinski struck out 14 in 10 ⅔ innings and gave up just one earned run.
