Arkansas Baseball Notebook: Wiggins out, position battles
Head coach Dave Van Horn's Diamond Hogs saw their second round of preseason action earlier in the week with a pair of scrimmages Sunday and Monday.
As Arkansas continues to ramp things up ahead of the Feb. 17 Opening Day matchup against Texas at the College Baseball Showdown in Arlington, Texas, HawgBeat will have you covered with free weekly notebooks containing takeaways, notes and tidbits on how the Razorbacks are looking.
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Jaxon Wiggins to have Tommy John surgery
Hard-throwing right-hander Jaxon Wiggins didn't throw this past weekend, which was cause for concern after Arkansas' projected ace going into the 2022 season, Peyton Pallette, went down before the season started with a UCL injury that required Tommy John Surgery.
Wiggins underwent an MRI on Wednesday, Feb. 8, where it was determined that he suffered a tear of his ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) — the same fate of Pallette. His surgery will be performed by Dr. Keith Meister, the head team physician for the Texas Rangers. A specific date for surgery has not been established at this time.
“We feel bad for Jaxon,” Arkansas head baseball coach Dave Van Horn said. “He worked incredibly hard over the offseason and was prepared to lead our rotation. While we are certainly disappointed that he won’t be able to see the results of his hard work on the mound this season, our priority is his health and recovery.”
Wiggins was the only starting pitcher during preseason scrimmages who hadn't pitched more than one inning. He faced four batters in a scoreless inning Jan. 28, and he had yet to throw in an open scrimmage since.
According to a source, the discomfort started three weeks ago when his forearm was a little sore, but he was still throwing. The initial MRI didn't reveal anything, serious but Wednesday's MRI revealed the injury.
The righty had a 0.75 ERA in 12 innings pitched, and he racked up 22 strikeouts compared to just two walks in scrimmages attended by HawgBeat. Batters hit just .111 against him.
Arkansas will now likely turn to the trio of LHP Hagen Smith, LHP Hunter Hollan and RHP Will McEntire for its starting rotation next weekend in Arlington.
Smith was a regular in the starting rotation as a true freshman for the majority of last season. McEntire was one of Arkansas' best pitchers during the team's College World Series run. Hollan is a talented lefty from the JUCO ranks that has received plenty of attention from scouts.
Position battle updates
No battle has been more interesting than shortstop through the first two weeks of scrimmages, and Austin Peay transfer John Bolton has widened the gap between himself and San Jacinto College transfer Harold Coll.
Bolton has played smoothly in the field with very few mistakes, while Coll continues to have hiccups, some that are his fault and some that are "just baseball." At the plate, Bolton has done enough to show he can get the job done, while Coll has had bad luck on a few balls that were hit very hard.
"Coll’s gotten better, but Bolton’s been the most consistent," Van Horn said after Monday's Swatter's Club meeting. "They’re both going to get to play. Obviously, Coll’s going to bring a little more offense to the game, little power potential there, too. They both run about the same. You’ve got to play defense if you’re playing short, that’s the bottom line."
Arkansas hitting coach Nate Thompson described Bolton as "a worker" after Monday's scrimmage.
"John is never afraid of competition," Thompson said. "I feel like that's why he chose us in the first place. I give him a lot of credit, man, because every day, he comes out here and he's got intent and focus with what he's doing to try to get better. And he's a good defender, straight up."
Other position battles that we were keeping an eye on were third base and catcher. At the hot corner, Caleb Cali continues to solidify his case as the team's starter.
He told reporters during the team's first weekend of scrimmages that he's played on the left side of the infield his whole life and he's really prioritized working at third over the offseason.
Freshman Jayson Jones and sophomore Kendall Diggs are also options at third, but Cali has played with the projected starting group in each of the scrimmages HawgBeat has attended. Diggs has served in right field with the second group, and Jones has worked at third and first with the second group as well.
Also worth noting, projected starting first baseman Brady Slavens has gotten some work at third base, and Van Horn cleared the reasoning for that up after Monday's Swatter's Club meeting.
"Maybe a guy can’t play third, but I can bring my first baseman over to third, and we can put him at first," Van Horn said. "Things like that. We’re just trying to think of things that could happen during a real game, and we don’t want to be caught off guard or catch them off guard. So, we’ve worked him over there."
Oklahoma transfer Hudson Polk is shaping up to get the nod behind the dish. Polk picked off Jayson Jones at first base and threw out Diggs trying to steal third Sunday. He also appeared more comfortable in the batter's box, reaching base three times in four plate appearances.
Polk's competition is JUCO transfer Parker Rowland, who saw his first two hits of preseason scrimmages on Monday.
No worries with struggling veteran pitchers
Righty Will McEntire recorded a 6.75 ERA in the fall, but he's cleaned that up since. His 3 1/3 innings were the most of any pitcher in a preseason scrimmage so far.
Though the box score says he allowed three hits, one was a double to Rowland that hit a wall of wind and just dropped in shallow center. With the wind taking away the third out, Diggs was able to drive Rowland home to erase the zero in McEntire's run column.
"Will's a lights-on guy," pitching coach Matt Hobbs said. "The closer you get to the season, the better he gets. It's good to see it because it gives you that head-on-the-pillow starter that you really feel good about, and we all know what Will is capable of and what he did last year."
Left-hander Zack Morris has been hit hard in his two preseason outings so far. In 2 1/3 IP, he's allowed nine hits, eight earned runs, walked four batters and struck out three.
Morris' fall wasn't much better, as he had a 9.00 ERA in 13 innings pitched, allowing opponents to hit .308 against him in scrimmages that HawgBeat attended.
Van Horn said it's been a rough go at it for Morris, but he's not worried about his experienced senior pitcher.
"It’s been a little frustrating for him," Van Horn said after Monday's Swatter's Club. "It’s like (Sunday) he gets the leadoff hitter down 1-2, Josenberger, who has a knack for fighting off pitches. Next thing you know it’s 3-2 and he walks. Then he’s worried about the runner at first.
"If you just look at the sequence, then he throws a fastball and Stovall hits a line drive to left for a single. Cali fights off a few pitches and then hits one off the batter’s eye and it’s 3-0 and he hasn’t got an out. Then he pitched good. I mean, then he gets three outs, we don’t score, we don’t score the next inning, but he’s frustrated."
The Arkansas skipper went on to say that the staff still has confidence in Morris, and it could be as simple as him needing to pitch against a team with a different uniform on.
Infielders suffer minor setbacks
Also of note, second baseman Peyton Stovall rolled his ankle while working through fly ball pop-up communication drills Sunday. Van Horn said that led to Stovall not running full-speed during Sunday's scrimmage, but he seemed to be 100% Monday.
Bolton tweaked his hamstring Friday while the team was working in the indoor facility.
"He’s ok, you saw him make some pretty nice plays in the field," Van Horn said. "We just don’t want him sprinting right now until that thing calms down a little bit."
Diggs continues to make case for DH spot
Kendall Diggs has yet to be part of the lineup that includes the projected starters during the two weekends of scrimmages, but that is likely just because the staff is letting him get action in right field, where Jace Bohrofen serves with the starting group.
His case to be Arkansas' designated hitter continued to get stronger, as he reached base five times during the last two scrimmages.
Diggs put together two strong at bats against McEntire, one that resulted in a groundout and one that turned into an RBI single in the third inning. The sophomore rounded out his performance at the plate with a double to right field and a walk.
"He can start at any time," Thompson said. "And he can hit it any day of the week for me. He's swung the bat well this fall and this spring so far. I think he's put himself in a position to have a good year offensively."
After a tough one-hit showing across the first two scrimmages of 2023, Diggs went 4-6 at the plate with two RBIs this past weekend. He said he hopes he's done enough to see his name on the starting lineup next Friday.
"I really hope so," Diggs said. "I really do hope so. I feel really confident, really good up there. I really hope I'm in there to help the team win."
Arkansas slated to play 10 regular-season games on national television
The Diamond Hogs will have 10 regular-season games nationally televised in the 2023 season. That number is up from the team's eight nationally televised games last year.
Arkansas will play a pair of games on ESPN2, six games on the SEC Network and two games on ESPNU.
The two games on ESPN2 will come on March 24 and 25 when the Razorbacks take a trip to the LSU Tigers, who are ranked No. 1 in D1Baseball's preseason top-25.
Of the remaining eight games, three home games will be broadcast on the SEC Network and one will be on ESPNU. The other four will be away games televised on the SEC Network.
Click here for the full schedule of nationally televised regular season games, and details on the two games that won't be television.
Stovall, Tygart named preseason All-SEC
Second baseman Peyton Stovall and right-handed relief pitcher Brady Tygart were voted to the first team by the SEC's 14 head coaches. The pair also both earned preseason Second Team All-American honors from D1Baseball.
Hogs picked to finish third in SEC West
Arkansas was picked to finish third in the SEC West behind Texas A&M and LSU, who earned 11 first-place votes to win the SEC championship. Click here for the full list of the preseason standings and All-SEC teams voted on by the coaches.
Van Horn talks at Swatter's Club
Van Horn spoke to the Swatter's Club for about 45 minutes Monday, and he met with reporters afterwards. Here are a few highlights from that:
Thoughts on new 10-run rule
Those in attendance at the Swatter's Club were made aware that the SEC has implemented a new rule that will end games if a team is up by 10 runs after the seventh inning.
"We actually have a 10-run rule on like getaway day if there’s like an issue with travel," Van Horn said. "Now they’ve just put it in. So, I guess the way I look at it is, if I’m up nine, I’m going to try to score, try to save some pitching.
"If I’m getting it handed to me, if you get beat by 10, let’s get ready for tomorrow and not waste any pitching. And just give some youngster a shot to go pitch in a conference game and let’s get out of here and get ready for tomorrow."
Coaches also have the option to put a runner at second base in extra innings, but it's safe to say that Van Horn is not in favor of that.
"I’m not going to say I want to do that," Van Horn said. "I want to play regular baseball. And knock on wood, I’ve never tied a game. How about that? Which is crazy because when you coach junior college ball for five years, you coach Division II for a year and then Division I, you’re going to tie a game because somebody doesn’t have lights or something crazy happens. We’ve never tied a game. I would just choose, 100%, let’s play regular baseball."
Hagen Smith and Hunter Hollan likely to start Opening Weekend
Talented left-handers Hagen Smith and Hunter Hollan threw during a closed scrimmage in the indoor facility on Friday. Van Horn said both threw really well.
"That’s a couple pretty good lefties right there," Van Horn said. "Hollan, we could use him for anything, as we could Hagen. But probably going to get an opportunity to start those two guys first weekend somehow."
Team working well together
Arkansas returns just two starters from last year's College World Series lineup, so there are plenty of new faces. Van Horn said his team is filled with "a bunch of good guys" and they are working well together.
"I mean every one of them has told me they like the guys on the team," Van Horn said. "I guess to answer your question, yeah it’s a little bit unusual maybe. Or I didn’t expect it to happen this fast.
"Usually when it happens it’s 20 games into the season when you’re just fighting for your life and you’re either going to pull for each other, or if you don’t then we’ve got to flip it and we’re in trouble. And they’re all trying to play, so they know the spots are wide open. And I just think that they’re nice to each other, but they’re still fighting. They want to play over their roommate, that’s for sure."