16th-rounder Sirota is HOFer's great nephew
Megan Garcia
@garciamegan_In order to be drafted, a player must be scouted. But not everyone can say they were scouted by Yankees legend Whitey Ford when they were 3 years old.
For Michael Sirota, an 18-year-old shortstop out of The Gunnery High School in Connecticut, that was exactly the case. Ford stressed to Sirota’s mother that the young right-hander needed to stick to baseball when he watched him take playful swings on pitches his grandmother made to him. Fifteen years later, the commitment paid off.
Sirota was drafted on Tuesday in the 16th round as the 492nd overall pick by the Dodgers, the same team that Ford, his great uncle, played against on the World Series stage in the 1950s and '60s. Sadly, Ford didn't get to celebrate the momentous event; he passed away in October in age 91 .
Los Angeles selected Sirota as one of two position players among their 20 Draft picks. The 6-foot-2, 180-pound shortstop made an impression with his speed on the basepaths and range as a middle infielder, along with his potential power to drive the ball.
“We like Mike a lot,” said Billy Gasparino, Dodgers vice president of amateur scouting. “We're kind of hoping in some ways that we could create enough money, as he was a target selection. There are a lot of positive reviews. Our scouts love him, and they did a great job on him.”
Sirota was nationally ranked as the 38th overall shortstop by Perfect Game, as his ability to throw across the diamond at 96 mph and swiftness throughout his transfer-to-throw motion made him a standout.
He was projected to be selected in the Draft’s earlier rounds, but his commitment to Northeastern University may have contributed to him still being available in the 16th round when the Dodgers’ turn arose.
“I thought maybe we were ahead of where the industry valued him; we had him a little higher,” Gasparino said. “His commitment to Northeastern is real, so I'm sure that was a factor for a lot of teams. I think once it got to a certain part of the Draft, I wasn't surprised [he was still available], but in terms of his talent level, [I was].”
Though his great uncle was a Hall of Fame left-handed pitcher, a 10-time All-Star and Cy Young Award winner, the accuracy and velocity in Sirota's arm in the infield has made him a future big leaguer to watch.