Auburn baseball will have a new starting rotation on the mound in the team’s upcoming series at Alabama, head coach Butch Thompson announced following the Tigers’ 12-2 win over UAB Tuesday night.
Midseason Pitcher of the Year Casey Mize (7-1) will remain No. 25 Auburn’s Game 1 ace, however, Tanner Burns, the normal Sunday starter, will move to Saturday.
The shift comes in light of recent struggles from sophomore righty Davis Daniel. In his three most recent mound appearances, the Montgomery product gave up 11 runs, skyrocketing his ERA to 5.35.
“I don’t think that’s a knee-jerk,” Thompson said about moving Daniel to the bullpen after a Game 2 loss to Mississippi State. “I think that’s something we’ll probably be proactive with. That will involve talking with players, talking with coaches, but I don’t think that would be knee-jerk at this point.”
Over that three-game span (loss at Arkansas, loss at Samford, loss versus Mississippi State), the Auburn offense produced only seven runs, as the Tiger bats continue to scrape the bottom of SEC averages.
Thompson added that Daniel will be available out of the bullpen. Since Daniel’s last outing, however, Auburn produced a rubber game win over the Bulldogs and a midweek blowout of UAB two days later.
Thompson said Sunday’s pitcher is still being determined, but candidates will likely include Cody Greenhill and Andrew Mitchell, both of whom returned from illness and injury, respectively, April 3 in a win over Alabama A&M.
In 25 innings of work this season, Greenhill touts a 2-1 record and has allowed only four earned runs, while Mitchell has given up only three behind a .239 opponent batting average.
First pitch for the Tigers and Tide is set for 6 p.m. CST on Friday in Tuscaloosa.
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