Which Cardinals stand to benefit the most from the implementation of ABS?

It didn't take long for a St. Louis Cardinal to take advantage of Major League Baseball's new Automated Ball-Strike System this spring. In the team's first game this spring, outfielder Lars Nootbaar disagreed with a strike call, so he tapped his helmet, stepped out of the box, looked up at the big screen, and watched as his judgment was deemed accurate. The pitch was changed from a called strike to a ball, and he would end up walking in the plate appearance.

For the first time ever, MLB players will be granted two challenges per game on balls and strikes. Pitchers, catchers, or hitters can challenge the call simply by tapping the top of their head right after the pitch. The league has been testing this system out in the minors for a few years now, and it's been received positively by minor league players. Now, the big leaguers get a chance to test out the system.

Manager Oli Marmol has been adamant that he wants his players to take advantage of this new challenge system despite it not being implemented in the majors this year or even next year. Why, you ask? Well, it's a tool hitters and pitchers can use to their advantage in the game. Most players have used their challenges in big moments — a full count late in a close game, a third strike with bases loaded, etc. Marmol wants his players to get familiar with the new system.

While this new system won't be in the majors this year, there's a chance it will be implemented as early as 2026. The hope is that close pitches (and even some egregious ones) will be corrected thanks to ABS.

This begs the question: which Cardinals will benefit the most from this new system?

Lars Nootbaar, Nolan Gorman, Nolan Arenado, and Brendan Donovan stand to take advantage of Major League Baseball's new ABS system.

According to Baseball Savant, in 2024, Brendan Donovan and Lars Nootbaar were the Cardinals who saw the most pitches that were out of the zone called strikes against them. Both players had 52 pitches that were actually balls be called strikes. Nolan Arenado had 50 pitches go against him, Masyn Winn saw 47 pitches go against him, and Paul Goldschmidt rounds out the top five with 45 pitches going against him.

From a percentage standpoint, 3.1% of Nootbaar's 1,659 pitches were called strikes incorrectly, and 3.0% of Luken Baker's 201 pitches were incorrectly called strikes.

Let's break it down a bit further.

Which missed calls resulted immediately in a strikeout last year for the Cardinals? Which batters had a pitch on a count with two strikes be called a strike when it was in reality a ball?

Well, that nomination is shared between Brendan Donovan, Nolan Gorman, and Lars Nootbaar. These three hitters struck out six times on pitches that were supposed to be balls. Michael Siani and Paul Goldschmidt both saw five balls called strikes that immediately resulted in a strikeout.

The Automated Ball-Strike System is good for baseball. No longer will we have to watch umpires like Angel Hernandez, CB Bucknor, Mike Estabrook (who was the home plate umpire for Nootbaar's challenge), and Hunter Wendelstedt miss calls behind the plate. Now, the game will become slightly more accurate.

Besides, watching the pitch come through on the big screen in the stadium can be energizing for baseball fans. It takes all of 10 seconds, but it could make a difference in close games.