\u201cThat\u2019ll be a little bit different,\u201d Royals pitching coach Brian Sweeney said. \u201cWe\u2019re getting our emails and trying to understand what that looks like.\u201d<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s one key point.<\/p>\n
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\u2019t be instituted by a manager, baserunner or position player.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Interesting enough, there\u2019s one position he doesn\u2019t want challenging balls and strikes.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t think pitchers should challenge any call,\u201d Sweeney said. \u201cLet the guy behind the plate … who has the feel for it. I\u2019m sure we are going to see it over there right away. \u2026<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s 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\u2019s, OK, when do we use our challenges and who calls them?\u201d<\/p>\n
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<\/a> during his minor-league career.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n \u201cYou know as a catcher, if it\u2019s a strike, you are going to challenge,\u201d Perez said. \u201cAnd you know it\u2019s 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\u2019s going to work.\u201d<\/p>\n Hoover has met with the catchers to simulate different in-game scenarios. It isn\u2019t much different than just understanding the strike zone and perfecting how to frame pitches.<\/p>\n \u201cWe do a strike zone drill and Sal has honestly been really good at it,\u201d Hoover said. \u201cAnd, I\u2019m hopeful for our first year that he\u2019ll continue that. And maybe once we figure out what\u2019s what and normalize it, we can get everyone up to speed with it.\u201d<\/p>\n For now, the Royals are trying to focus more on the side-to-side \u2014 east-west \u2014 aspect of the strike zone, as they figure out which borderline pitches to challenge.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are trying to be smart with how we are doing it,\u201d Hoover said. \u201cABS measurements are going to start happening next week. So until they\u2019re loaded into the TrackMan system, we\u2019re improvising and we are not really using up and down.\u201d<\/p>\n 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\u2019t impact much of their routine ahead of a given start.<\/p>\n Royals ace Cole Ragans understands the new strategy. However, he is more focused on just executing and letting his work speak for itself.<\/p>\n \u201cI control what I can control,\u201d Ragans said. \u201cAll I can control is commanding the baseball and I\u2019m 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\u2019s something that\u2019s out of my control. It doesn\u2019t affect me. Just go out there and do my best to command the baseball and trust the guys behind me.\u201d<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are going to talk about that a little bit to see who\u2019s going to challenge,\u201d Perez said. \u201cYou know, early in the game, if we lose a challenge, we may need it later in the game. It\u2019s 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\u2019s 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.\u201d<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n \u201cI do think the strike zone will tighten up,\u201d Hoover said, \u201cand it\u2019ll become narrow in and out and not bubble out as it has in the past.\u201d<\/p>\n Related Stories from Kansas City Star<\/p>\n 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 <\/p>\n