Here's What Nationals Fans Should Pay Attention to When it Comes to ABS System

The Athletic (subscription required) took a look at where the most missed calls came from during the 2025 season. And one that stood out was the high fastball that was up and in, especially when it was right-handed pitchers facing off against right-handed batters.

"When you look at the top of the zone, it immediately comes into focus that there's a battle forming up there. Especially on fastballs. ... The movement on the high fastballs might also have something to do with it. Many of the pitchers at the top of this list have two fastballs and pepper the top of the zone with different shapes. That's designed to be hard on the hitter, but it can also be hard on the umpire," they noted.

While no Nationals pitcher made The Athletic's list when it came to the most missed calls on pitches up in the zone, that's something to pay attention to during the season when it comes to monitoring how ABS affects this pitching staff.

Sharper Strike Zone Is Coming to Major League Baseball

For decades, the strike zone has largely been up to the discretion of the umpire. While there is an established zone, the lack of technology to enforce things on a consistent basis allowed for there to be some wiggle room.

Theoretically, that is no longer going to be the case in 2026 and beyond. That should bring back a "sharper" strike zone compared to what had been in place where umpires rounded off the square zone instead of calling strikes that landed on the corners.

Because of that, pitchers with accuracy should be rewarded more often. That could help Washington even further since a lot of their staff doesn't have overwhelming stuff and they have to rely on their location to succeed.

Using ABS to Their Advantage

This will be the first year of ABS at the major league level, so there will be a learning curve in place. That's why it's important for the Nationals to figure things out during the early part of the season so they can best use things to their advantage.

Will they target more up and in pitches knowing they can challenge balls and strikes calls up there or will they use ABS more in the batter's box to give their hitters more favorable counts instead of focusing on their pitching staff? Will they change how they plan to approach things pregame or will this just be something they keep in their back pocket to be used sporadically?

While all of that is unclear right now, the good news is Washington has a regime in place that embraces technology and analytics. And with this massive change coming to the sport, the fanbase should be confident they'll figure out what works best for the Nationals this year and beyond.