WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – The Nationals’ third game of the Grapefruit League season today will feature a new wrinkle that wasn’t a part of their first two games: The ABS challenge system.

ABS, which stands for “Automated Balls and Strikes,” is the so-called “robot ump” that calls pitches based on a group of camera angles and predetermined measurements for each batter. It’s been in use in the minor leagues for a few years now, and Major League Baseball is testing it out in some spring training games this year to see how it works at the highest level of the sport.

This isn’t the full-fledged robot ump, though. The plate umpire still makes every call on every pitch taken by the batter. But if a particular call looks to be wrong, either the batter, the catcher or the pitcher is allowed to challenge it by tapping his head.

The ABS system then kicks in, and on the stadium scoreboard for all to see, a digital strike zone is shown with the location of the pitch in question, followed by the correct call. It’s all done in a matter of seconds.

Here’s the catch: Each team is only allowed to get two challenges wrong per game. Nobody wants to run out of them, so the decision when and how often to use them becomes paramount.

SARASOTA, Fla. – Because he didn’t play winter ball, Orioles pitcher Albert Suárez is in the best shape of his life.

He really means it.

Suárez didn’t join Caracas in Venezuela after making 32 appearances with the Orioles last season and totaling a career-high 133 2/3 innings in his return to the majors. He rested, he worked out and he earned the first exhibition start Saturday afternoon against the Pirates in Sarasota.

“For me, just how I prepared in the offseason,” he said of receiving the honor. “I think I’m well prepared to be able to start the first game of spring training. So it means a lot.”

Times can change quickly and Suárez is a baseball example. He reported to camp last spring as a non-roster invite and impressed the Orioles to the point that they selected his contract in April. Now he’s practically a lock to be introduced on Opening Day in Toronto.

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – It all happened so fast. Most everyone at Clover Park in Port St. Lucie probably didn’t even notice when Drew Millas tapped the top of his catcher’s mask after plate umpire Mark Stewart called a first-pitch curveball from Cole Henry to Jesus Baez low for ball one in the bottom of the second inning of Friday’s “Spring Breakout” prospects game between the Nationals and Mets.

Stewart, though, immediately let the crowd know what was happening, announcing over his microphone that Millas had challenged the call, which would now be reviewed by the Automated Balls and Strikes system.

And lo and behold, there on the scoreboard for everyone in the stadium to see, was a graphic showing the actual location of the pitch, which was indeed in the zone at the knees. Stewart announced the call was reversed, the count switched from 1-0 to 0-1 and play resumed.

The whole process took a handful of seconds from start to finish.

“I just saw the pitch was there,” Millas said, “and tapped my head.”