Padres Sign Fifth-Round Draft Choice James Guyette

The San Diego Padres have landed their fifth-round draft choice.

Kansas State right-handed starter James Guyette has signed with the Padres for $400,000, MLB Pipeline's Jim Callis reported Wednesday. That is just slightly below the slot value of $449,500. You can keep tabs on the Padres and their draft pool with our Draft Tracker.

A 6-foot-3, 215-pounder, Guyette was a surprise selection for the Friars with the 157th pick. He was not ranked by either Baseball America or MLB Pipeline. A SoCal native who attended Newbury Park High School, Guyette joined the Kansas State rotation this season as a junior and had a 5.56 ERA with 35 walks and 105 strikeouts in 79⅓ innings. He has a really nice slider in the mid-80s and a good sinking fastball that sits 93-94 mph. He also has a changeup that can become a plus pitch.

Guyette is the third of the Padres' 20 draft choices to have been signed, joining second-rounder Elliot Lascelles, a high school shortstop from Toronto, and 11th-rounder Chris McHugh, a first baseman from North Carolina State.