Texas Baseball's Erich Weiss to Sign with the Pittsburgh Pirates Organization

University of Texas baseball player Erich Weiss has decided to leave school and sign a professional contract with the Pittsburgh Pirates organization.

Weiss confirmed this via Twitter:

The Pirates drafted Weiss in the 11th round, No. 329 overall. At Texas, Weiss played both infield and outfield while hitting for a career .334 average. He also ended his career with 14 triples, 10 home runs and 107 RBI.

Weiss leaves Austin after his junior year in which he accumulated a variety of honors. Those accolades included being named a Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American and receiving first-team All-Big 12 honors.

According to Steven Petrella in an early June article on MLB.com, Weiss knows the game and has the ability to improve:

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Weiss plays the game like he grew up around someone who played it. That’s because his father, Gary, spent parts of two seasons in the big leagues. The University of Texas infielder really knows how to hit, with a quick stroke that allows him to send line drives to all fields when he’s going right, something that didn’t happen too much this spring. ... There isn’t much power now, but he has some room to add strength, so a bit more pop might be on the way. He’s a solid runner and plays the game the right way.

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Weiss will be a nice addition to the Pirates organization and could fast-track himself through the minors with superior hitting.

At Texas, Weiss found himself batting in the middle of the order, but at the next level he could find himself hitting from the leadoff spot or the 2-slot because of contact hitting. There is currently no report on what his signing bonus will be.