Which Rangers players will benefit from ABS implementation in 2026?

Players and fans of America's pastime are excited to see a big change coming to the game in 2026. The ABS (automated ball-strike challenge system) will make its debut this season using a twelve-camera system to create a virtual strike zone.

Baseball purists will argue that the human error element that comes with the umpires is a part of the game, but sometimes you just can't stop technological progress from making improvements to the game that we all love.

Beginning this year, teams will be awarded two challenges of a ball-strike call by the umpire per nine-inning game. The review will be initiated by the batter tapping his helmet, and the call will be digitally scrutinized for accuracy.

If the review is successful, then the call will be reversed and the team will retain their challenge.

There are a handful of Rangers, both pitchers and hitters, who should be ecstatic about the new system as they stand to benefit the most by eliminating potentially bad calls by the home plate umpire.

These 3 Rangers stand to benefit most from the ABS system

Wyatt Langford - OF

If you have watched the Rangers game in and game out since Wyatt Langford made his major league debut in 2024, then you have, no doubt, seen the same thing that we have. That is an unusual number of really poor calls on balls that are clearly out of the zone, which are being called strikes.

Most of those bad calls were on pitches well off the outside edge of the plate, and have consistently cost the young hitter favorable counts, as he continues to improve his eye, trying to work into advantageous counts and draw more walks.

Jacob deGrom - SP

DeGrom's stuff is so good that sometimes both the hitter and the umpire are completely fooled by what they thought they saw. This is particularly true when he snaps off his patented hard slider to right-handed batters.

The big flamethrower has such amazing and unusual bite on the pitch that umpires have trouble calibrating exactly at what point the ball crossed the plane of home plate. This results in the umps having to guess more and costing deGrom the outer edge strike and numerous strikeouts per outing.

Evan Carter - OF

They don't call him "Full Count" Carter for nothing, as the 23-year-old from Tennessee has proven that he has a plus eye and tremendous discipline at the plate.

It is a safe bet that Carter has a better idea of what his strike zone is than the umpire does. The ABS will reveal this to be true, which will help Carter and all disciplined hitters. Now that he can use a challenge on close/bad calls, look for coach Skip Schumaker to give his center fielder carte blanche to tap his helmet and initiate plenty of reviews in 2026.