WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- The Astros set up a pair of large television monitors behind a screen near home plate on the back fields at CACTI Park of the Palm Beaches on Tuesday and Wednesday in what amounted to a crash course in learning the incoming Automated Ball-Strike (ABS) Challenge System.
While several Astros pitchers were throwing batting practice, hitters opted to challenge the ball-strike calls, which were made by the coaching staff. The ABS system will be implemented in Grapefruit League games beginning this weekend before being brought to the regular season next month, so this is an important exercise.
The Astros are leaving nothing to chance in making sure their players are prepared for the ABS system, from knowing the rules, the proper times to challenge and even which individual players are better equipped to challenge based on strike-zone awareness. One thing’s for sure: the Astros would prefer that pitchers don’t challenge, leaving that to the catcher, who has a better view of the strike zone.
“I highly encourage them not to do it,” Astros manager Joe Espada said. “In the heat of the moment if they do it, I’m hoping any time we challenge we get it right [because] you only get two.”
Beginning this season, players will have the power to appeal the strike-zone judgments of home-plate umpires by turning to the ABS System, a technological advancement that will help ensure the most important calls are made correctly.
Many Astros have experience using the system, which has been tested in the Minor Leagues since 2022 and got a trial run in Major League Spring Training last year. Houston’s exposure was limited last spring, though, considering it wasn’t used at its spring home ballpark, which the club shares with the Nationals.
Mickey Storey, who managed the Astros’ Triple-A affiliate in Sugar Land, has seen the ABS system in operation for several years in the Minors. He said it takes some time to get accustomed to it, and things still pop up to this day that weren’t expected.
“We’ve already gone over certain situations with challenges -- runners in motion, how to play it out and where runners are placed,” Storey said. “There’s a number of oddities that pop up, but these guys will be plenty prepared. There’s things I didn't see the first year that popped up the second the year and that will be similar in the big leagues.”
Challenges must be made immediately after the umpire’s call, without assistance from the dugout or other players and only by the batter, pitcher or catcher. The player taps his cap or helmet to alert the umpire to his desire to challenge the call.
An animated pitch result graphic is shown to those in attendance via the video board and to home viewers via the broadcast. Each team will have two challenges before extra innings, but the team will retain its challenge if the call is reversed.
Astros outfielder Joey Loperfido, who has used ABS in Triple-A and was acquired on Friday in a trade with the Blue Jays, said younger players have to earn the right to challenge calls.
“If you’re not an established hitter, I think you better be right if you're going to challenge one,” Loperfido said. “We’re definitely going to do some work to try to show that we have some zone awareness to earn the right to challenge.”
Astros catcher César Salazar, who also has extensive experience in Triple-A, said picking the right situations to challenge a call will be paramount. Challenging a pitch in the first inning won’t have the same effect on the game as challenging a pitch in a high-leverage situation late in the game.
“Bases loaded, two outs, a 1-1 pitch, something that can turn the count into our favor or turn into a strikeout,” Salazar said.
Salazar has been assisting Astros starting catcher Yainer Diaz with ABS this spring considering Diaz’s only exposure was limited in Spring Training last year. With Astros pitchers being encouraged not to challenge, the onus will be on the catcher to make the call.
“He's been trying to get informed,” Salazar said. “He's been asking me questions. It's something that we're gonna implement in our day-to-day practice -- bullpens, live BPs. We have the feedback, we’re calling balls and strikes to get a good feel of where the strike zone is, but we're gonna be ready for it.”