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Credit: Mike Watters-Imagn Images\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCredit: Mike Watters-Imagn Images\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
Baseball is coming faster than you think. In fact, the Minnesota Twins are just four to five weeks out from invading Fort Myers for Spring Training 2026<\/a>. Last February\/March, the Grapefruit League tested out<\/a> the new automated balls and strikes system (ABS) for the first time.<\/p>\n In 2026, however, ABS will make its major league regular season debut.<\/p>\n Minor league players have been using the automated balls and strikes system for years now, but there will certainly be a learning curve for established veterans who have never used it beyond Spring Training.<\/p>\n Ultimately, Minnesota Twins manager Derek Shelton<\/a> will decide how he wants to utilize Major League Baseball\u2019s new challenge system, something he still has some time to think about both before and after exhibition games are played.<\/p>\n Derek Shelton won\u2019t let MN Twins pitchers challenge balls\/strikes?<\/p>\n Technically, during any one at-bat where a team has challenges remaining, any of the involved pitcher, hitter or catcher are eligible to challenge a ball or strike. But if Shelton gets the final say, it sounds like pitchers, specifically, will not be allowed to make challenges from the mound for the Twins.<\/p>\n \u201cMy early thought \u2014 I don\u2019t know if I should say this \u2014 I don\u2019t think the pitchers should ever challenge. Pitchers think everything is a strike.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Derek Shelton (via Star Tribune)<\/a><\/p>\n Shelton believes that pitchers are too emotionally tied to the outcome of each individual offering, to be in charge of challenging an umpire\u2019s original call.<\/p>\n Beyond that, catchers have a better view of what is a ball vs strike, than their teammate. Thus, it does make a lot of sense to take the option to challenge out of a pitcher\u2019s hand altogether. <\/p>\n The Star Tribune\u2019s Bobby Nightengale<\/a>, who sat down with Shelton for his weekly Extra Innings newsletter, brought some pretty convincing data to help strengthen the new skipper\u2019s argument against pitchers challenging.<\/p>\n When\u00a0the automated strike zone challenge system was tested during spring training last year, MLB reported the overturn rate was 52.2%.\u00a0Catchers had a 56% success rate on their challenges, and pitchers had a 41% success rate. Hitters\u00a0were successful in exactly half their challenges.\u00a0<\/p>\n Bobby Nightengale \u2013 Star Tribune<\/a><\/p>\n Having watched hitters challenge pitches over the past couple of years in St. Paul, it has also been impressive to see their accuracy. It\u2019s incredible how well professionals know their individual strike zones. It\u2019s also consistently apparent how small the margin of error for umpires is.<\/p>\n THANK YOU BASEBALL GODS THE ABS CHALLENGE SYSTEM IS FINALLY BEING TESTED IN MLB GAMES pic.twitter.com\/d5Fa0kq6cz<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Codify (@CodifyBaseball) February 20, 2025<\/a> <\/p>\n As the Minnesota Twins get into spring training<\/a>, we\u2019ll see if Shelton softens his stance on pitchers challenging. One thing is for sure, as I\u2019ve watched the ABS challenge system rolled out in St. Paul with the Saints, is just how advanced most hitters\u2019 feel for the strike zone really is \u2014 not to mention how small the margin of error is for umpires, at that level.<\/p>\n Could Twins generate advantage through ABS?<\/p>\n Just how quickly teams adapt to the new rules will create competitive advantages<\/a> throughout the league, especially early on after adoption. Situational circumstances and end game results are something that Shelton and Arizona Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo both opined on recently.<\/p>\n \u201cI just\u00a0don\u2019t\u00a0want somebody up there randomly\u00a0in\u00a0the bottom of the second\u00a0inning\u00a0wasting our last challenge and saying\u00a0that\u2019s\u00a0the end of it.\u201d<\/p>\n Torey Lovullo \u2013 Star Tribune<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cI\u00a0don\u2019t\u00a0know if anybody has\u00a0an idea.\u00a0I guarantee\u00a0you\u2019re\u00a0going to see a lot of\u00a0copycat.\u00a0You\u2019re\u00a0going to see every organization watching other organizations and how they attack it. I do think in the first month, month and a half, teams that figure it out are\u00a0definitely going\u00a0to have an advantage.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Derek Shelton \u2013 Star Tribune<\/a><\/p>\n The ABS challenge system won\u2019t take away catcher framing, because there are only so many challenges allotted to each team every game. For a team operating on the fringes like the Twins<\/a>, they need to be at the forefront of any advantages the new challenge system can bring.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMentioned in this article: ABS Challenge<\/a> Derek Shelton<\/a> <\/p>\n More About: Minnesota Twins<\/a><\/p>\n Add MinnesotaSportsFan as a preferred source on Google. \t\t\t![\"Add](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/google_preferred_source_badge.png\"){kind=icon}
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