Santa Cruz High School graduate Langston Burkett, 18, signed a minor league deal Thursday with the San Diego Padres. (Shmuel Sailor – Santa Cruz Sentinel)

The San Diego Padres signed freshman Langston Burkett from Santa Cruz High School to a minor league deal on Thursday. Terms of the deal were not announced.

The 6-foot-5 right-handed pitcher signed a letter of intent to play for San Jose State University in the NCAA Division I, but decided not to play college and began his professional career at the age of 18.

Mr. Langston was not available for comment on Thursday.

Langston, who played in the famous and highly scouted Area Code game in August, has had a handful of scouts in many of his games this season. He also participated in the 2021 and his 2022 Bay Area World Series Showcases, and his ProCase in 2022.

He was named to the All-Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League First Team in each of his last two seasons. He was recognized as one of the top pitchers in the league as a senior and was honored in the designated hitter/utility division as a junior. He helped the Cardinals finish second in the league both years and advance to the Central Coast section of the playoffs.

On the mound this season, Birkett went 6-1 with a 0.45 ERA. He pitched 46 1/3 innings, giving up 25 hits and 16 runs, but allowing just three earned runs. He struck out 73 hitters and walked 14.

Santa Cruz County selected Arizona State second baseman Luke Keithshall and Aptos pitcher Gabe Geekle in the first-year MLB draft, which took place July 9-11. After the draft, San Diego pitchers Michael Mitchell and Langston signed free agency contracts.