Mike Sirota
Mike Sirota – Northeastern – So. – OF – ’24 Eligible
Spring Stats (Northeastern): .326/.411/.511, 14 2B, 0 3B, 4 HR, 10/13 SB/SBA, 17:29 BB:K
Summer Stats (Brewster/Hyannis): .314/.451/.465, 3 2B, 2 3B, 2 HR, 5/6 SB/SBA, 18:24 BB:K
Accolades: CCBL All-League Team
Drafted in the 16th round out of high school by the Los Angeles Dodgers, Mike Sirota was one of the bigger offensive recruits to land in Boston in a while. The great-nephew of MLB Hall of Fame pitcher, Whitey Ford, Mike certainly had expectations to live up to. He delivered, leading Northeastern’s offense in AVG (.326), OBP (.411), SLG (.511), 2Bs (14), and HRs (4)…and oh yeah, all while missing 23 games.
Sirota was another player that Hyannis wasn’t able to land preseason but was gifted during the season. After slashing .250/.471/.292 in 11 games with Brewster, they parted ways with the Huskies centerfielder when they needed to clear an outfield spot for Ryan Lasko’s return from Team USA training camp. The Harbor Hawks gladly scooped him up and were rewarded with a .972 OPS in Sirota’s 18 games with Hyannis.
It is rare for a freshman to put up big offensive numbers on Cape but, Mike did just that. He did so by using the whole field, consistent hard contact, and good swing decisions. He posted a 16% chase rate but more notably, a 15% and 7% chase on sliders and curveballs respectively. Outside of his 22% line drive rate, his 46% grounder were no rollovers. The NY native hit .414 on balls that hit the dirt.
Sirota sets up with decent bend in the knees and his hands set above his shoulders, around eye level. His hands are pretty active throughout the swing and get set in front of his back shoulder as the pitch comes in. He features a small leg lift that gets the front foot about 6 inches of extension and sets up the power to come from the back leg. He’s got projectable raw power that can certainly result in 10-15 homers next spring.
Mike dominated lefties on Cape, slashing .387/.500/.516 with a 22%/11% miss/chase. Some may nitpick and say there is swing and miss vs lefty changeups and sliders but, I think that is an unfair assessment given the sample size. More than half of his swing and misses on those pitches game over 2 isolated games, one a February game and the other on Cape. He has shown an ability to hit the change hard (although exclusively on the ground) and he hasn’t seen enough sliders from southpaws to fairly evaluate. It will be an interesting thing to follow with him in 2023.
Righty sliders have been the sore spot for Sirota in his young career. On Cape, he posted a 38%/20% miss/chase and a .620 OPS vs the pitch. Most of his miss came with 2 strikes on balls either just off the plate or late swings on sliders in the zone (due to late recognition). Since he will be the focal point of Northeastern’s lineup, I expect him to see a lot of sliders and improve his ability to fight off or drive them. With that being said, he has shown elite discipline (sub 8% chase) vs the curveball, limiting his swings to balls over the plate or in the zone w/ 2 strikes. He had no issues with the fastball either, slugging .607 in his 22 batted balls vs heaters last summer.
On the other side of the ball, Sirota is a plus defender who has already spent time at all 3 outfield positions, primarily in center. He is a good athlete that (from what I’ve seen) makes good reads, has great closing speed coming in, and a strong arm that will only continue to get better as he fills out his 6’2’’ 180-pound frame. While he didn’t have many big-play opportunities on Cape, he flashed the leather for the Huskies making several diving catches and robbing a HR at NC State in his 2nd career collegiate game.
Although he didn’t run much on Cape, he swiped 10 bags in 33 games at Northeastern. With his above-average speed combined with the Huskies’ high-running frequency, I can see Sirota collecting 20+ stolen bases in 2023.
Looking Ahead: After coming up just short of winning the CAA tournament and clinching a regional berth, Sirota looks to lead the Huskies to the playoffs in 2023. On a personal level, Sirota is making his case to get an invite to Team USA’s College National Team training camp next summer after an outstanding freshman campaign. If not, the Harbor Hawks will be excited to see him spend another summer in the blue and orange. Regardless, Sirota is setting himself up to be an early round pick in the 2024 MLB Draft.