Keegan questionable for South Carolina series

AUBURN | With Keegan Thompson nursing a sore shoulder, No. 17 Auburn will shake up its starting rotation this weekend against No. 6 South Carolina.

Casey Mize and Davis Daniel will move up a day in the rotation and Sunday’s starter is listed as TBA.

Auburn coach Butch Thompson, however, is not ruling out Keegan Thompson for Sunday.

“We've thrown (Keegan), we feel good -- all the information I get from our staff and doctors,” Butch Thompson said. “We'll be day-to-day … we’ll take every precaution knowing that this is a marathon and not a sprint. I think Keegan will let us know, let me know as a coach when he wants the baseball.”

Keegan Thompson underwent Tommy John surgery following the 2015 season and sat out last year

“I think it's kind of common -- not even saying to Keegan -- I'm saying it's common for shoulder soreness for a guy coming off of this surgery,” Butch Thompson said. “I think if you look for the protocol for rehab, 90 percent of rehab is associated with the shoulder region, not where it was repaired on the ligament in the elbow.”

After throwing four shutout innings against Georgia last Friday, Keegan experienced tightness in his shoulder when he came out to warmup for the fifth and was sent to the dugout.

On the season, Keegan is 4-0 with a 0.70 ERA, 26 strikeouts and seven walks in 38.2 innings. He’s averaged 81.8 pitches for start.

Mize, who is moving from Saturday to Friday, is 3-1 on the season with a 0.98 ERA. He has 51 strikeouts and just six walks.

“(Keegan) is good. He’s really optimistic. He’s going to be fine,” Mize said.

First pitch for Friday’s game at Plainsman Park is scheduled 6 p.m. CT on the SECN+. Saturday’s game will be at 5 p.m. on ESPNU and Sunday’s at 1 p.m. on SECN+.