Pirates select South Carolina right-hander Carmen Mlodzinski with 31st pick in MLB Draft

With their second pick on the first day of the MLB Draft, the Pittsburgh Pirates selected college pitcher Carmen Mlodzinski of South Carolina 31^st overall in the Competitive Balance Round A.

With the 31st pick in the #MLBDraft, we have selected Carmen Mlodzinski from the University of South Carolina.

Welcome to the Burgh, Carmen! pic.twitter.com/CKN3fIyM1f

— Pirates (@Pirates) June 11, 2020

The 6-foot-2, 232-pound right-hander had his past two seasons cut short, one by an injury and another by a global pandemic. He was 2-1 with a 2.84 ERA and 22 strikeouts in 25 1/3 innings over four starts this season. Mlodzinski entered his redshirt sophomore season as the top starter but missed most of his sophomore year with a broken foot.

Like Pirates first-round pick Nick Gonzales of New Mexico State, Mlodzinski boosted his status with a strong showing in the Cape Cod League. Mlodzinski was 2-0 with a 2.14 ERA with 40 strikeouts and four walks in six starts for the Falmout Commodores.

The Pirates said they like Mlodzinski’s fiery spirit and the movement on his pitches, and see him as a future major-league starting pitcher.

“Potential is, I’d say first and foremost, is the way he’s made – a very strong competitor,” Pirates amateur scouting director Joe DelliCarri said. “Second, we really like the way just simply put, he can make the ball move. He throws different pitches. He has a variety of pitches that can move in different directions. That’s first and foremost. He’s worked on a little bit of cutter, as well as slider, curveball, and makes fastball move to both sides of the plate. It’s simple for us: Competitor, strong and he can really make the ball move.”