{"id":664501,"date":"2026-04-05T12:19:16","date_gmt":"2026-04-05T12:19:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/664501\/"},"modified":"2026-04-05T12:19:16","modified_gmt":"2026-04-05T12:19:16","slug":"what-makes-the-twins-baseballs-most-aggressive-abs-team-we-dont-have-a-cheat-code","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/664501\/","title":{"rendered":"What makes the Twins baseball\u2019s most aggressive ABS team? \u2018We don\u2019t have a cheat code\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

MINNEAPOLIS \u2014 Josh Bell challenged a called strike in the first inning Saturday night and lost a battle with baseball\u2019s newest robot, the Automated Ball-Strike challenge system. Two innings later, Luke Keaschall also unsuccessfully challenged a call.<\/p>\n

The two early misses in a 7-1 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays on Saturday meant the Minnesota Twins were out of challenges with six-plus innings to play, a position they\u2019ve rarely found themselves in early in the season. Even though Keaschall would have benefited from having a challenge later in the same at-bat when a ball was incorrectly called a strike in a 3-2 count, the Twins\u2019 coaching staff was OK with his process.<\/p>\n

After only eight games, manager Derek Shelton\u2019s staff understands that for the Twins to continue being baseball\u2019s most aggressive team in challenging calls, and one of its most successful, players must be empowered to choose and also know the coaches support their decisions.<\/p>\n

The Twins believe their players\u2019 collective aggressive mindset and a pair of catchers who thoroughly understand the strike zone are two key reasons the team leads the league by a wide margin in challenges requested as well as conversions.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t have any cheat codes,\u201d Twins assistant bench coach Mike Rabelo said. \u201cWe challenged them to be aggressive, and they\u2019ve been great. \u2018Be aggressive. You don\u2019t get to keep these challenges. They don\u2019t carry over. Use them.\u2019 It\u2019s a use-or-lose-it situation, and lucky for us, they have been nails.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to data from Tap To Challenge<\/a>, the Twins have requested 30 ABS challenges through eight games, nine more than the next closest team in the majors (New York Yankees<\/a>). Their 19 successful challenges are five more than the Yankees. By comparison, 28 of baseball\u2019s 30 teams have issued 18 or fewer challenges.<\/p>\n

What makes those numbers ironic is that last Sunday, Shelton made baseball history in Baltimore when he became the first person ejected over an ABS dispute. Shelton wasn\u2019t arguing the robot\u2019s decision, but rather that umpires gave the Orioles too much time to challenge a ninth-inning ball called against Bell \u2014 an overturn that led to a strikeout.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not anti-robot,\u201d Shelton said Friday. \u201cI don\u2019t know why everyone thinks I\u2019m anti-robot, or Instagram thinks I\u2019m anti-robot. I actually love the ABS. Had an issue with the timing of one of them, but I think I was wrong. I was told that I was wrong. I was wrong.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut no, I think ABS has been really effective. I like how it\u2019s working out, and I\u2019m pleased because I think we\u2019ve done a good job with it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Manager<\/p>\n

\n Derek Shelton became the first manager to be ejected over an ABS dispute. (Jamie Sabau \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n

The Twins think Ryan Jeffers\u2019 and Victor Caratini\u2019s thorough understanding of the strike zone is key to their success. Jeffers and Caratini demonstrated good decision-making during spring training, continuing what Jeffers and former Twin Christian V\u00e1zquez showed when ABS was first tested last spring.<\/p>\n

After experimenting with the process early in the exhibition season, bench coach Mark Hallberg said the Twins started to discuss how they wanted to use ABS once the season began. During that period, the Twins made it clear they implicitly trust Jeffers\u2019 and Caratini\u2019s view of the zone.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe went over different situations and strategies,\u201d Jeffers said. \u201cWe knew it was going to be an important part of the game. We have the freedom to challenge pitches we think are called incorrectly.\u201d<\/p>\n

The two have combined for a league-high 14 defensive challenges and converted nine of them. Their nine conversions lead the league.<\/p>\n

Following Saturday\u2019s two misses, Twins hitters are 10-for-16.<\/p>\n

For comparison, the Cleveland Guardians are 2-for-13 in all of their challenges this season.<\/p>\n

Already, the Twins have seen the calls benefit them and play crucial roles in victories.<\/p>\n

Not only are Jeffers and Caratini picking good pitches to challenge, but they\u2019re also choosing effective moments. The team\u2019s 1.81 Call Leverage Index ranks No. 3 in the majors. It\u2019s plus-0.199 Net Win Probability Added ranks No. 4 in the majors.<\/p>\n

The team also thinks its season-high nine challenges in a 13-9 loss at Kansas City on Wednesday impacted Thursday\u2019s series finale. Down 12-1 on Wednesday, the Twins used an 8-for-9 ABS effort to help chip away at the deficit and ultimately forced the Royals to bring in closer Lucas Erceg. The Twins then won the series finale, 5-1.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you can switch count leverages in big moments and change base\/out states (run expectancy charts), those are all factors, and how many run-scoring opportunities you get,\u201d Hallberg said. \u201cWhen you\u2019re down in the game and you make their closer (enter) and keep fighting throughout the night, some of those overturns (Wednesday) gave us the opportunity to come back. It stung to lose the game, but our guys fought and our competitive spirit was intact. We made them work. We got their closer up. That impacted the next day, and I hope our team continues to do that throughout the season.\u201d<\/p>\n

As long as the support from the coaching staff continues to be unwavering, the Twins likely will maintain their aggressive state of mind. Given what he\u2019s seen from his perch next to Shelton in the dugout, assistant bench coach Mike Rabelo wants players to continue impacting games with aggressive mindsets and sharp eyes.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou have to support,\u201d said Rabelo, who caught in the Detroit Tigers and then-Florida Marlins farm systems in the 2000s. \u201cIf we use both of (our challenges) and lose them early in the game, you have to support that notion. You can\u2019t go both ways. We want them to be aggressive, and if we blow them early, hang with \u2019em, man. They took a shot. One run in the first is the same as one run in the eighth or ninth. Don\u2019t doubt them.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"MINNEAPOLIS \u2014 Josh Bell challenged a called strike in the first inning Saturday night and lost a battle…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":664502,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[2290],"tags":[5,60],"class_list":{"0":"post-664501","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-baseball","8":"tag-baseball","9":"tag-minnesota-twins"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/116352068250893413","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/664501","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=664501"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/664501\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/664502"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=664501"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=664501"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=664501"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}