Will Blue Jays Be Hurt or Helped by New ABS System Next Season?

With news dropping that the MLB is adopting the ABS system, do the Toronto Blue Jays stand to gain anything from it?

Sep 21, 2025; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Toronto Blue Jays relief pitcher Jeff Hoffman (23) celebrates with catcher Tyler Heineman (55) after the win over the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium | Denny Medley-Imagn Images

With news that the MLB will be implementing the ABS challenge system they tested in the minors and showed off in the All-Star Game this season, fans around the country can rejoice in not having to scream at umpires who miss calls during games.

The new system gives each team two challenges and the ability to keep them if they are successful. So while there will still be room for human error, there won't be as much as before. But will this impact players on the Toronto Blue Jays in a positive or negative way?

On the Mound

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Unfortunately for Toronto, they are one of the luckiest pitching staffs in MLB when it comes to their players getting pitches out of the strike zone called as a strike. According to Baseball Savant, Jose Berrios, Kevin Gausman and Chris Bassitt are all in the top-20 in that category. They are also the only team in the league with three players to fall within that range.

It's not just a volume number, either, as all of them get those calls 1.9% of the time or more. It even stretches into the bullpen, where Brayden Fisher -- who has had 28 calls this season -- has the highest percentage at 3.5%.

For Bassitt, though, while he does benefits from getting calls like his teammates, he also leads the Blue Jays in pitches in the zone being called balls. He's the only one on the roster in the top 100 with 57 of his pitches in the zone this season called a ball.

Toronto has been among the teams that have benefited from human error on the mound. That could change with the addition of ABS, which could make them throw more pitches and be in the zone more often next season.

At the Plate

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Nearly a similar story to his counterparts, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., has been the beneficiary of the most wrong calls in the strike zone. The face of the Blue Jays offense has had 71 pitches in the zone called a ball, which is 2.9% of all the pitches he has seen this year. That number is at least 20 pitches higher than Bo Bichette and George Springer, who are at 44 and 39, respectively.

On the other hand, Bichette and Springer have a reason to welcome the new system after nearly having the same number of pitches outside the zone go against them as they do in the zone. Before his injury, Toronto's shortstop was on the end of 39 wrong calls, which paced the team. Springer had 32 of those same calls, nearly matching their opposing numbers.

Neither will change their approach at the plate, but it should allow them to feel more comfortable when being selective about what they look for, knowing they might potentially have a challenge in their back pocket if they feel slighted by a call.

Only time will tell what the numbers will look like after a season with the ABS. While only having two challenges could lead to less willingness to use them, it could also lead to better at-bats at the plate and maybe anticlimactic strikeouts as well.