CC is right about this. No one gets their bullpen up the first batter of the game.

Let's put it this way- we're probably carrying I'd guess 13 pitchers at most on a SEC weekend. Take out the starter in the game and the other two and you are down to 10 pitchers. I'm not going to even get into the fact that there could be any number of relief pitchers who may be unavailable but let's assume we're at 10. So if "things go to shit" all of a sudden you are relying on guys that are used to going 1-2 innings at a time and that's assuming none of them "go to shit". By the end of the game you are down to pretty close to zero pitchers and if it's extra innings we're screwed assuming we don't run out before the game is over and then we have a thread titled on here "Who the hell gets their bullpen up in the first inning anyway?"

The fact of the matter is even with bullpen games and relievers used more than ever you still need some volume in innings eaten somewhere. No one gets the bullpen up in the first inning unless it is a true bullpen game and planned out ahead of time. That's not the case with us.

The reality is this- Auger is a relief pitcher and that is his best role. And yes, he pitched well against Vanderbilt as a starter. If Pico or Dohm were 100% healthy they would be the third starter. Pico looks pretty close so I highly suspect that he will start against Arkansas and the main reason is because he is more likely even in a rehab situation to go deeper in the game than Auger. If Auger is not landing his slider he is toast. Starter or reliever. Even stretched out I'm not sure he can go beyond 65 pitches anyway.