Pro Hogs

Wernes signs with Houston

Arkansas' Bobby Wernes (7) celebrates as he crosses the plate in front of Oral Roberts catcher Matt Whatley, left, as Wernes scored on a double by Andrew Benintendi that also scored Joe Serrano in the sixth inning of a game at the Stillwater Regional of the NCAA college baseball tournament in Stillwater, Okla., Friday, May 29, 2015. Arkansas won 8-6. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

— Bobby Wernes has signed a contract with the Houston Astros, his father told WholeHogSports.

The former Arkansas third baseman was a 30th-round pick (889th overall) by the Astros in the 2015 MLB Draft.

As a junior, Wernes was named the to All-SEC defensive team and improved his batting average by 62 points, to .279.

He also saw his extra-base hits jump from one (a double) as a sophomore to 18 (seven doubles, six triples and five home runs) this year.

Wernes is the first Arkansas player to sign a professional contract in 2015, but Andrew Benintendi, Trey Killian and Tyler Spoon are expected to sign before the July 17 deadline.