'I was doing too much': How Bucs' Mlodzinski evolved his work habits

For Carmen Mlodzinski, like many 20-somethings who graduated from the confines of university to the boundless jungle of the real world, growth required learning and unlearning.

Mlodzinski established a formula early in his life: work hard. It was how he was raised in Hilton Head Island, S.C. It was what he knew. The formula helped him get to the University of South Carolina. The formula helped him get drafted 31st overall in 2020. The formula was effective. Until it wasn’t.

“I was doing too much,” Mlodzinski said. “I was overdoing it. I was the same way in college.”

Due in part to that overworking, Mlodzinski missed time last year. He realized the formula needed changing. The same formula that had been good to him for so long. The same formula that got him here.

Mlodzinski could be stubborn, stuck in his ways. Or, as difficult as it might be, he could adapt. He could alter the formula that had been so good to him.

“At this point, it’s work as smart as you can,” Mlodzinski said, “and understand that I want to play in the big leagues for 20 years, not one. I want to stay healthy and pitch in as many games as possible. You can’t pitch unless you’re healthy. That’s what I’ve certainly learned last year.”

At Pirate City, Mlodzinski could be seen carrying around a gallon of water, the universal symbol of a gym rat. In college, that label was appropriate. Mlodzinski frequented the weight room more than most. He admitted he’d work out twice in one day behind his coaches’ backs, a habit that led to him suffering a stress fracture in his left foot in 2019. That injury didn’t deter the grind. His attitude didn’t seem to change. That is, until he couldn’t ignore the consequences.

Mlodzinski, the Pirates' No. 10 prospect per MLB Pipeline, was stellar to begin his first professional season. Through nine starts, Mlodzinski had a 2.63 ERA with 54 strikeouts across 41 innings. Midway through July, Mlodzinski was outperforming Quinn Priester. Then, the setback.

The right-hander missed several weeks due to injury. Upon returning in mid-August, Mlodzinski was limited. He only pitched 11 1/3 innings in his final six outings, allowing 11 earned runs in that time. He had the same number of walks as strikeouts (8). The injury that derailed Mlodzinski’s season? Right shoulder tendinitis, an ailment that results from too much physical stress.

Mlodzinski partially attributed the tendinitis to the increased workload; he went from barely pitching in 2020 to diving into a full season. But he also attributed his definitive habit: overworking. Mlodzinski recalled times when coaches or teammates thought his extra work was eye wash, all for show. It was a cocktail of factors that sunk a promising season. If Mlodzinski wanted to continue to rise through the ranks, something had to change. His formula had to change.

What helped Mlodzinski was his trip to the Arizona Fall League. In that environment, he got to see exactly what the best and brightest were doing. More importantly, he got to see what the best and brightest weren’t doing.

“When I got to see how some of the best players in the country and Minor Leagues do it, I really feel like I got a better grasp of that switch," Mlodzinski said. "You’ve got to do what’s best for your body. Not just what’s best for the competition of others and the other guys.”

Still, change wasn’t easy. If Mlodzinski cut his workday short, he’d feel a little antsy. Shutting down mentally was difficult. If he wasn't crushing it in the weight room, working out for three hours and throwing up at the end, something almost felt wrong. With a strong support system of coaches and players who have held him in check, Mlodzinski is finding balance.

“Give yourself an hour to work on mental stuff. Give yourself another hour to work on visualization stuff,” Mlodzinski said. “I’ve honestly found I’m more tired on those days, more mentally exhausted, when I’m doing it smarter and giving myself more variation in my work day, versus just going out there and crushing it physically. I’ve learned a lot in that area.”

Learning, growing are not one-time things, but rather a continuous process. As Mlodzinski, a candidate to begin this season with Double-A Altoona makes his way through the farm system, adjustments, both mental and physical, will be necessary. But Mlodzinski has taken the first step, and that’s important in and of itself.

“I felt like last year, I had a really good grasp of what I needed to do at the beginning of the year,” Mlodzinski said. “I certainly learned that I didn’t, and [I understand] that it’s going to be changing. It gives me a little bit of peace of mind to say, ‘You’re never going to find an answer,’ but you always have to be on that hunt. It’s never going to go away.”