Pittsburgh Pirates: Carmen Mlodzisnki Deserves to be a Top 100 Prospect

Pittsburgh Pirates 2020 competitive round selection Carmen Mlodzinski has shown that he deserves to be a top 100 prospect this season.

The 2020 draft was a strong one for the Pittsburgh Pirates. Despite only being 5 rounds long and only getting 6 selections, the likes of Nick Gonzales, Jared Jones, Nick Garcia, and Logan Hofmann were all pretty decent players going into the draft and are showing a lot of promise.

During the 1st round of the draft the Pittsburgh Pirates had a pair of picks. The #7 overall selection and a competitive balance pick at #31. That 31st selection was used on pitcher Carmen Mlodzinski, who deserves to be a top 100 prospect.

Mlodzinski’s overall numbers aren’t the best in the Pirate system, but they’re good nonetheless. He has a strong 3.20 ERA, 32% strikeout rate, and 3.41 K/BB ratio. Mlodzinski’s walk rate sits at 9.4%. That represents a workable, albeit not outstanding mark. Mlodinski’s biggest struggle has been home runs. His 1.49 HR/9 rate inflates his FIP to 4.49. But his xFIP sits at a decent 3.79.

However, it’s Mlodzinski’s stuff that should make him a top 100 prospect. Mlodzinski has a strong pitch mix. His fastball has sinking action to it and can throw it through the zone in the upper-90’s. FanGraphs already sees it as a 55-grade offering.

Mlodzinski has two versions of his breaking offering. The right-hander’s breaking pitch has hard movement and sits in the low-80’s. Some see it as a slider, others see it as a cutter. Regardless, FanGraphs sees both as at least average offerings. Though between the two, the cutter version is seen as a better offering with a 55-future grade and the slider version at a 50-grade.

Finally, there’s his changeup. While FanGraphs only sees it as a 45-offering, MLB Pipeline gives it some good praise. Pipeline has it as a 50-grade offering saying he has a good feel of it with some sinking action. Though considering if he can separate his cutter to slider, that’s four offerings with average or better potential.

The Pittsburgh Pirates already have a handful of high-ranking prospects. Gonzales, Quinn Priester, and Henry Davis are consensus top 100 prospects. Liover Peguero is considered a top 100 guy by the likes of FanGraphs and now MLB Pipeline. Oneil Cruz started out as a top 100 prospect by many other sources before putting up great numbers at Double-A. One other Pirates pitching prospect who soared through the minor league rankings this year was Roansy Contreras. Miguel Yajure is a top 80 prospect per FanGraphs. You could probably name a half dozen or more Pirates prospects who fall into borderline top 100 territory.

Mlodzinski should be added to that list. He’s a highly talented right-handed pitcher and the Pirates didn’t pick him with the 31st pick for no reason. Not only is he putting up solid numbers, but getting a ton of swings and misses on some pretty powerful stuff.