The Pittsburgh Pirates signed eight draft picks on Wednesday and assigned seven to the State College Spikes.

Jake Stallings is the highest 2012 draft pick currently headed for State College. The Pirates selected Stallings in the seventh round of this month’s Major League Baseball Draft. Stallings hit .297 with four homers and 36 RBIs this past season at North Carolina.

The other six players assigned to State College are all pitchers: Pat Ludwig (10th round, Yale), Dalton Friend (12th, Jefferson College), Thomas Harlan (13th, Fresno State), Kyle Haynes (20th, Virginia Commonwealth), Lance Breedlove (23rd, Purdue) and Josh Smith (25th, Wichita State).

Ludwig, Stallings, Harlan, Breedlove and Smith were seniors this past spring. Breedlove, a second- team All-Big Ten selection, went 8-6 with a 3.33 ERA to help the Boilermakers capture a conference title.

The Pirates have signed nine of their 40 draft picks. Infielder Eric Wood was assigned to the rookie Gulf Coast League. Wood, a sixth-round selection, attended Blinn (Texas) College.

The Pirates signed second-rounder Wyatt Mathisen earlier this week. The catcher from Calallen (Texas) will begin his career in the GCL.

The rest of the Spikes’ roster is expected to be unveiled today. The team opens a three-day minicamp Friday in Altoona. The final two days of the minicamp are in State College.

The Spikes open their seventh season Monday at Williamsport.