Dodgers' Yoshinobu Yamamoto to Get Cy Young Boost With ABS?

"Fastballs thrown high in the strike zone make up a large proportion of pitches that umpires incorrectly called balls. And in 2025, Yamamoto was among the league leaders in that category, tying for fourth place. Both Yamamoto and Logan Webb of the San Francisco Giants had 15 such pitches, behind the Athletics' Luis Severino with 22, the Milwaukee Brewers' Quinn Priester with 17 and the Tampa Bay Ray's Zack Littell with 16."

"A lot of umpires have issues with high-velocity throwers, like they'll move (flinch) and that will (mess) up their pitch calling. It's been like that for a long time."

"A few challenges turning called balls into high strikes could be the difference between strikeouts and hits, and between stranded runners and earned runs."

Major League Baseball introduces the Automated Ball-Strike system allowing batters, pitchers, and catchers to challenge umpire calls on balls and strikes. Yoshinobu Yamamoto of the Los Angeles Dodgers stands to gain significantly from this change. High fastballs represent a large proportion of pitches umpires incorrectly call as balls, and Yamamoto tied for fourth league-wide with 15 such pitches in 2025. Umpires struggle with high fastballs partly because high-velocity throwers cause them to flinch, affecting their pitch calling. Some pitchers plan to work the top corners of the zone more confidently with ABS in place. Yamamoto, the reigning World Series MVP, may not need major adjustments but could use challenges to convert called balls into strikes, potentially affecting strikeout rates and run prevention.

Read at Dodgers Nation