Pittsburgh (KDKA)- The Pittsburgh Pirates today signed first baseman Alex Dickerson, the club’s third round selection in the 2011 First-Year Player Draft.

Dickerson hit .367 (79-for-215) with 10 doubles, nine home runs, 49 RBI, 33 runs scored and a .540 slugging percentage in 54 games this year as a senior at Indiana University while being named the First-Team All-Big Ten Designated Hitter.

As a junior, Dickerson was the 2010 Big Ten Triple Crown winner (.419 average, 24 home runs, 75 RBI),
a First-Team All-American and a unanimous selection as Big Ten Player-of-the-Year.
Dickerson ended his collegiate career tied for first in school history in career home runs (47), fourth in
slugging percentage (.657), fifth in hits (266), fifth in batting average (.386) and sixth in runs scored (181).

“Alex is an offensive oriented corner type best suited for first base,” said Pirates Director of Scouting Greg Smith. “He is a power/bat combo guy that has performed well, which is illustrated by him winning the Triple Crown in the Big Ten Conference.”

The Pirates have now signed 17 players from this year’s Draft.