Aeronautics and Astronautics Student Pauses Studies to Pitch for Dodgers

A Los Angeles Dodgers hat glove and sunglasses in the dugout against the Pittsburgh Pirates during the fourth inning at PNC Park on June 16, 2013. | Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

Baseball rarely appears in the pages of the MIT Technology Review. When it does, the topic usually veers toward analytics or, appropriately, technology.

The school, which competes in Division III, has only produced one major league player (former San Diego Padres pitcher Jason Szuminski). Only four other Engineers — the mascot, not the academic pursuit — were selected in the MLB draft. The most recent of the four never even pitched for the team that drafted him.

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That will change soon.

As first reported by the MIT Technology Review, pitcher Mason Estrada has reported to the Dodgers' Instructional League camp in Arizona to begin his professional career. The Dodgers selected Estrada in the seventh round of the July draft, and signed him to a $447,500 bonus.

Estrada is an aeronautics and astronautics student at MIT, who was accepted to the prestigious school on the strength of academic merit. He was somewhat of a late bloomer in baseball.

“It was always kind of school first," he told MLB.com in July. "I was good at baseball when I was younger, I was not elite. I only had a couple of small looks from D-I programs, a lot of JUCO and D-II, D-III looks, and so no schools that were really interested in me that were worth giving up an MIT degree. So that's why I ended up going to MIT. But it was definitely a juggle focusing on school, focusing on baseball — I just had to make sure I kept my priorities straight.”

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MLB.com's Jesse Borek noted that Estrada impressed scouts with his arsenal at the pre-draft MLB Scouting Combine.

"In addition to sitting consistently at 94-96 mph with his heater while on a big league mound with all eyes on him, Estrada was ripping off 84-87 mph slider/cutter hybrids that registered as high as 2700 RPMs," Borek reported in June.

A native of Louisiana, Estrada said "intellectual aspects of the game" and "data-driven stuff" speaks to him.

"I think it's a big part of the game right now, and I think it's a good thing, especially for pitchers," he said. "It's definitely prevalent and it's definitely justified."

Estrada compared his approach to that of Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Max Scherzer, as well as Atlanta Braves pitcher Spencer Strider on account of his frame. Both pitchers stand 6 feet tall, in a league where taller is often seen as better.

Estrada was 6-0 with a 2.21 ERA in 10 games for the Engineers in 2025.

For more Dodgers news, head over to Dodgers on SI.