The Expected Impact of ABS | Rays, Cardinals Team Previews
Rates & Barrels: A show about Baseball
The Athletic
4.7 • 874 Ratings
🗓️ 25 February 2026
⏱️ 74 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Eno and Jed discuss the full-time arrival of the automated ball-strike challenge system in 2026 and the players most likely to be impacted by the changed to the strike zone. Plus, they resume the Team Preview series with a breakdown of the Rays, where ongoing competition for playing is unfolding at several positions, and the Cardinals, who have opened up a lot of opportunities for younger players by trading away several veterans in their rebuilding effort this winter.
Check out the current win totals projected by PECOTA here: https://www.baseballprospectus.com/standings/
Rundown
1:01 The Expected Impact of ABS in 2026
18:40 Tampa Bay Rays Preview
43:14 St. Louis Cardinals Preview
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Host: Eno Sarris
With: Jed Lowrie
Editor: Jason Potere
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | All right. |
| 0:13.6 | Welcome to another episode of Rates and Burrels. |
| 0:16.3 | You are listening to the Dulcetones of Inoceris. |
| 0:19.4 | Unfortunately, Jed. |
| 0:21.1 | Lowry is also with us. |
| 0:22.6 | Unfortunately, I said. |
| 0:24.4 | Unfortunately. |
| 0:25.3 | We're off to a banging start. |
| 0:27.7 | I meant to say, unfortunately, we don't have Derek Van Riper. |
| 0:33.5 | He has a daycare situation. |
| 0:36.2 | So we will have added. |
| 0:38.4 | We've already put one error up on the board. |
| 0:42.7 | First pitch of the game. |
| 0:46.6 | Jed, how are you doing it today? |
| 0:48.4 | I'm great, you know. |
| 0:49.7 | Unfortunately, unfortunately, I'm here with you. |
| 0:53.8 | Did not mean to put those words together. |
| 0:57.3 | All right. |
| 0:58.2 | So today we'll be talking a little bit about the impact of the new automated |
| 1:02.5 | balls and strikes challenge system. |
| 1:04.9 | We'll also get into the Rays and Cardinals do a little team preview action. |
| 1:09.9 | But, you know, one of the early things that we're |
... |
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