BRADENTON, Fla. — Carmen Mlodzinski accomplished his goal for the spring by once again earning a spot in the Pirates’ starting rotation.
Now, the really important work starts.
The next time Mlodzinski takes the mound will be Sunday, March 29, in the Pirates’ series finale against the Mets at Citi Field. Manager Don Kelly made the announcement Sunday on SportsNet Pittsburgh as the Pirates hosted the Red Sox at LECOM Park, adding that Mitch Keller will start the middle game after Paul Skenes.
The move means Mlodzinski effectively won the fifth starter spot by picking up where he left off last season, when he had a 2.12 ERA over his final 25 appearances, all of them in relief.
It’s also a chance for the right-hander to show how much he’s evolved as a pitcher since last season, when Mlodzinski made the rotation out of camp but wasn’t able to keep his spot.
“It feels good,” Mlodzinski said. “I’m happy to help the team however I can, but my mindset going into it is definitely a lot different than last year. It’s one day at a time, earning the opportunity to take the ball as much as possible.
“I think having a different mentality this year will help me. I don’t want to make the same mistakes.”
Trying Mlodzinski again as a starter is fascinating — in large part because he’s a completely different pitcher, someone who’s added two pitches that he didn’t have at this time last year. The 27-year-old also has more experience logging more innings, something Mlodzinski said contributed to his 2025 struggles.
In nine starts, Mlodzinski pitched to a 5.67 ERA, with 12 walks and five home runs allowed in 39 2/3 innings. Mlodzinski’s four-seamer was hit harder than it was in 2024. His slider also saw a major regression, the slugging percentage against it soaring from .255 to .516.
Mlodzinski’s time as a starter also followed another career trend for him, in that he was excellent the first time facing a hitter but then not so much with repeated exposure. For example, Mlodzinski allowed an OPS against the first time facing hitters of .594. That jumped to 1.029 the second time.
For his career, those numbers for Mlodzinski are .574 and also 1.029.
At the same time, Mlodzinski has never pitched the way he has this spring.
He played around with a windup to develop a little more rhythm. The splitter that he learned from David Bednar and Kirby Yates has been devastating. It’s easily been his best pitch and actually one of the best by any Pirates pitcher this spring.
But the overarching goal for Mlodzinski involves being more efficient, forcing hitters to swing at the splitter and ideally inducing weak contact early in at-bats. Mlodzinski did that that in Grapefruit League play, going 2-0 with a 2.92 ERA in four games (three starts), with just two walks and 14 strikeouts in 12 1/3 innings.
“This time last year to now, I feel 100% different,” Mlodzinski said. “I'm just trying to get better and recognize what I need to work on. The splitter and curveball have come a long way for me. They’ve created space [for other pitches] and given me the opportunity to improve what I’ve wanted to improve.”
Mlodzinski might be underselling it. The splitter and curveball have been incredible. Potentially career-altering. And Mlodzinski, as he should, has thrown both much more this spring.
Last season, he used his spitter just 15.2% of the time. It netted a .235 batting average and .279 slugging percentage against, along with generating a 43.1% whiff rate. Mlodzinski’s curveball had an 8.9% usage rate, despite opponents hitting and slugging .192 against the pitch.
When Mlodzinski relied on this mix, it led to success as a reliever — the 2.12 ERA, 15 walks and 61 strikeouts in 59 1/3 innings. That’s been reprised this spring. But the regular season will obviously present another challenge.
Mlodzinski has been encouraged by his work down here. The command of the splitter in-zone has been consistently very good. His entire mix has minimized hard contact and kept things efficient.
“I don’t need 12-pitch at-bats with a punchout,” Mlodzinski said. “I want to get guys out first or second pitch.”
Whether it’s the splitter, the curveball or building up volume in his return to the starting rotation, Mlodzinski knows how this works.
Expectations are high — for him and the team. He has to perform better than he did last year to keep getting these types of opportunities.
“Knowing there are a lot of guys here who can do your job and do it very well, that’s competitive pressure, right? It sets an edge,” Mlodzinski said. “I’m just trying to be better this year than last year, learn from some great guys in our rotation and play a part in all of us trying to one-up each other.”
Jason Mackey: Jason.Mackey@pirates.com and @JMackey_PGH.