Wiggins will remain in Hogs' rotation at Auburn

Arkansas pitcher Jaxon Wiggins throws a pitch during a game against Ole Miss on Sunday, May 1, 2022, in Fayetteville.

FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn said Monday sophomore pitcher Jaxon Wiggins will remain in the starting rotation for the third-ranked Razorbacks’ series at No. 18 Auburn. 

“If it goes good, great, because we need him; if not, we’ll have somebody ready to go,” Van Horn said. “That’s what you’ve got to do — you’ve got to back these guys up. He’s had a couple of rough weeks in a row, so maybe this will be a really good week for him.”

Wiggins (5-1, 5.75 ERA), who has been the No. 3 starter in the weekend rotation all season, has struggled in his most recent starts against Texas A&M and Ole Miss. He allowed 5 runs and recorded 1 out against the Aggies, and allowed 3 runs in 3 innings against the Rebels. 

His batting average against of .240 is the highest of Arkansas’ three starters, but within 16 percentage points of the team’s other weekend starters, Connor Noland and Hagen Smith. 

Wiggins has struggled much more with command than the other starters, which led Van Horn to call his struggles “self inflicted.” Through 51 1/3 innings, the right hander has walked 31, hit 6 batters with a pitch and thrown 8 wild pitches.  

He walked six over 3 1/3 innings combined against Texas A&M and Ole Miss. 

Wiggins was sharp early in SEC play. He pitched 6 innings against Kentucky, 7 1/3 innings against Missouri and 5 innings against Mississippi State in late March and early April. Through his first three SEC starts, his conference-only ERA was 2.95.

“We know it’s in there,” Van Horn said. “Maybe he’s just going through a little bit of that in the middle of the season, toward the end of the season.”

Wiggins allowed 9 hits and 7 earned runs during a 4-inning start at Florida on April 9, beginning a stretch of shaky outings. He was hit 9 times, but also struck out 9 and limited LSU to 2 runs in 5 innings on April 16, and has allowed 3 hits and 3 walks in each of most recent starts against Texas A&M and Ole Miss. 

Van Horn said the coaching staff has had a plan in place for how it would respond if Wiggins did not start well. On Sunday against Ole Miss, relievers Zack Morris and Brady Tygart each pitched three innings of scoreless relief and Arkansas won 4-3.

“I just feel like he’s going to flip the switch,” Van Horn said. “His stuff’s good. He actually threw some really good breaking balls (against Ole Miss), but you’ve got to land more of them because there’s two philosophies against him — take until you get a strike early or jump that first fastball and try to hit it as hard as you can. 

“The key for him is to be able to throw off-speed pitches early in the count and finish guys with fastballs and not just fastball every time. More than anything, you’ve just got to throw strikes. If he does that, he’ll be good.”

Wiggins spent most of his freshman season last year as a reliever. He made his first weekend start during the regular-series finale against Florida, and also started twice during the postseason, including the SEC Tournament championship game victory over Tennessee. 

Van Horn suggested a move to the bullpen might be in store if Wiggins does not pitch well at Auburn.

“If he keeps struggling, we’ll just re-evaluate it and maybe get a plan together where we bring him in second,” Van Horn said, “and see what he can do in the middle of the game.”