Jaxon Wiggins Out, Now Hogs Have to Find Another Friday Starter

Will miss entire season facing Tommy John surgery on elbow after injury

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn now has some work to do.

It was announced Thursday that junior pitcher Jaxon Wiggins will undergo Tommy John surgery and miss the 2023 season.

While this pitching staff was considered deep, a lot of that was counting on Wiggins stepping in as the opening-day starter on the mound.

The Hogs will likely turn to the trio of left-handers Hagen Smith and Hunter Hollan along with right-hander 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.

Wiggins underwent an MRI on Wednesday, Feb. 8, where it was determined that he suffered a tear of his ulnar collateral ligament (UCL). 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 coach Dave Van Horn said in a release. “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 a crucial part of an Arkansas pitching staff that set a new school record with 674 strikeouts in 2022. The right-hander made 17 appearances, including 15 starts, on the mound last season as a sophomore, posting a 6-3 record with a 6.55 ERA and 82 strikeouts over 66.0 innings.

The Roland, Okla., native logged three quality starts, including six scoreless innings with four strikeouts in a start against SEC East foe Kentucky on March 20.

Wiggins racked up multiple strikeouts in 16 of his 17 outings on the year, highlighted by a career-high nine punchouts in a start against SEC West rival LSU on April 16.

For his career, Wiggins is 9-4 with a 6.17 ERA, 110 strikeouts and four saves in 89.0 innings over 34 appearances (19 starts) as a Razorback.

He is ranked No. 41 in D1Baseball’s 2023 MLB Draft College Top 100, No. 55 in MLB Pipeline’s 2023 MLB Draft Top 100 and listed as the No. 61 overall prospect in Baseball America’s 2023 draft rankings.

Information from Arkansas Communications is included in this story.

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