Last year, Carmen Mlodzinski wasn’t pitching while dealing with a broken foot but was still able to head to the field to go through his rehab and workout in the facility.
That was the longest he’d gone without baseball in his life until, well, this year.
Now, as Mlodzinski prepares to be one of the first selections in this year’s MLB Draft, he can’t get to the field to sharpen his game in preparations to start his professional career, which requires him to get a little creative.
“We’ve been sneaking out on the golf course with some of my younger brothers and buddies from my high school team doing some throwing stuff and some bullpen stuff out there. It’s been real fun getting out there,” Mlodzinski said. “It’s wide open out there. They probably have to shoo us off and get us off of there a couple days a week but it’s for sure fun.”
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Mlodzinski, the Gamecocks’ flame-throwing right-hander who started each of the last two seasons as the Friday night starter, is widely considered a first-round pick with outlets projecting him to go somewhere in either the 20s or 30s Wednesday.
With the college baseball season shut down in March, what was supposed to be Mlodzinski’s breakout junior season was cut short and it forced Mlodzinski to have to retool his workout plans.
If this were any other year, Mlodzinski would be either preparing for a Super Regional or just getting done with the season and begin his offseason workout and throwing program.
His arm has been on the shelf for the better part of three months, he’s had to retool his offseason program with the help of Gamecock strength coach Billy Anderson to stay in shape in case he does play pro ball this summer.
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“I’m just treating it like an offseason with lifting. Really the hardest part is trying to judge when I’ll be on the field again,” he said. “You really don’t know at this point. I’m staying pretty close to in-game shape at this point. I’m not pressing too hard down on myself like I would be in a season, but I’m still pretty close to game ready. If I need to turn on that switch, I can be there in a month or so.”
Mlodzinski saw his last two seasons cut short—first by the foot injury and then Coronavirus—which means his South Carolina likely ends with just 26 career appearances.
In that time though, thanks to a strong summer in the Cape Cod League, saw himself go from a fringe draftable player coming out of high school to a projected first-round pick.
“I came to Carolina with just about zero pitching experience. I probably threw 50 career innings as a high schooler,” Mlodzinski said. “Really there wasn’t a whole lot to show for it coming in and basically I went from ground zero to where I’m at now. It’s definitely a lot of development the last three years. That’s not just on the pitching or physical side but also on the mental side where coach Meade’s helped me out. He’s been huge on that for me. That’s where I feel like my career took off; when I grasped that with some of the stuff he’s showing me.”
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Entering the MLB Draft, which starts Wednesday night at 7 p.m., Mlodzinski is considered the No. 25 prospect by Baseball America and the No. 24 draft prospect by PerfectGame.
He offers and pretty electric package with a fastball touching 98 miles per hour and a breaking ball that did damage in the Cape.
At this point, he’s done all he can do, and now it’s time to see where it lands him.
“The conversations have been good. It’s been pretty easy for both sides,” Mlodzinski said. “I think they’ve been telling me stuff I’ve known before for what really works for me and what doesn’t work for me. Obviously there’s going to be continued improvement throughout my whole baseball career. I think they like the package I’ve developed myself and the tools I put together to help me develop.”
