There is a change coming to Major League Baseball.
After years of minor-league testing, the league is bringing the Automatic Ball-Strike (ABS) Challenge System to regular-season play. And it’s set to unlock new strategies on how the game is played.
“That’ll be a little bit different,” Royals pitching coach Brian Sweeney said. “We’re getting our emails and trying to understand what that looks like.”
The ABS Challenge System is designed to help officiate the strike zone. There will still be human umpires to call balls and strikes, but the new system allows players to challenge what they deem to be a questionable call.
Teams will be granted two challenges each game. If a team wins a challenge, they will retain it. But once out of challenges, a team cannot challenge again unless the game goes to extra innings.
Here’s one key point.
Major League Baseball stipulated that only a pitcher, batter or catcher has the right to challenge any ball or strike in a given sequence. A challenge can’t be instituted by a manager, baserunner or position player.
A challenge can be made by tapping a cap or helmet. Then, the videoboard will show the replay review of the call in question. In mere seconds, everyone will know the results.
The Royals are getting up to speed with the ABS Challenge System. Sweeney is talking with his pitchers and catchers about the best way to handle the new technology.
Interesting enough, there’s one position he doesn’t want challenging balls and strikes.
“I don’t think pitchers should challenge any call,” Sweeney said. “Let the guy behind the plate … who has the feel for it. I’m sure we are going to see it over there right away. …
“It’s a process that we are trying to understand. And talking with R&D (research and development) and the guys in the minor leagues that have used it before, it’s, OK, when do we use our challenges and who calls them?”
The Royals are expected to carry Salvador Perez and Carter Jensen behind the plate. Perez has the MLB experience but Jensen has played with the ABS Challenge System during his minor-league career.
There will be a learning curve for both guys. Perez is excited to work alongside bench coach Paul Hoover to figure out the best way to use the new system effectively.
“You know as a catcher, if it’s a strike, you are going to challenge,” Perez said. “And you know it’s going to be a strike. … You know, I think I have to concentrate even more doing my job behind home plate and see how that’s going to work.”
Hoover has met with the catchers to simulate different in-game scenarios. It isn’t much different than just understanding the strike zone and perfecting how to frame pitches.
“We do a strike zone drill and Sal has honestly been really good at it,” Hoover said. “And, I’m hopeful for our first year that he’ll continue that. And maybe once we figure out what’s what and normalize it, we can get everyone up to speed with it.”
For now, the Royals are trying to focus more on the side-to-side — east-west — aspect of the strike zone, as they figure out which borderline pitches to challenge.
“We are trying to be smart with how we are doing it,” Hoover said. “ABS measurements are going to start happening next week. So until they’re loaded into the TrackMan system, we’re improvising and we are not really using up and down.”
While Royals catchers are getting a crash course on the ABS Challenge System, the pitchers are preparing as normal. There will be opportunities to insert their belief in a certain call, but it won’t impact much of their routine ahead of a given start.
The video board displays the Automated Ball-Strike (ABS) system on a challenge in the second inning of the MLB game at Surprise Stadium on March 12, 2025 in Surprise, Arizona. Christian Petersen Getty Images
Royals ace Cole Ragans understands the new strategy. However, he is more focused on just executing and letting his work speak for itself.
“I control what I can control,” Ragans said. “All I can control is commanding the baseball and I’m going to do that to the best of my ability and let the rest take care of itself. You know, I used the ABS in Triple-A and stuff like that. So that’s something that’s out of my control. It doesn’t affect me. Just go out there and do my best to command the baseball and trust the guys behind me.”
The Royals got a taste of the ABS Challenge System last spring training. The results varied, but the club is ready to embrace the new reality in 2026.
“We are going to talk about that a little bit to see who’s going to challenge,” Perez said. “You know, early in the game, if we lose a challenge, we may need it later in the game. It’s like should we wait, even if the umpire makes a little mistake, you have to be 100% right to challenge in the first three innings. That’s kind of what I think. But I have to wait for skip (Matt Quatraro) and see what Bobby (Witt Jr.), Vinnie (Pasquantino) and Maikel (Garcia) think about that.”
Each MLB team is going to have its own particular strategy. The Royals will devise their plan and refine it in Cactus League play this spring.
“I do think the strike zone will tighten up,” Hoover said, “and it’ll become narrow in and out and not bubble out as it has in the past.”
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Jaylon Thompson covers the Royals for The Kansas City Star. He previously covered the 2021 World Series and the 2016 Summer Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Jaylon is a proud alumnus of the University of Georgia.