Like most things in life, Major League Baseball is continuously experimenting with ways to make the sport a better product and experience for players and fans. One of those experiments is the automated ball-strike system (ABS), allowing players to challenge certain pitches.

ABS was used in Triple-A during the 2024 season and in about 60 percent of spring training games this year. The system won’t be in place in the majors during the 2025 regular season, but MLB commissioner Rob Manfred hopes to implement it in 2026.

Philadelphia Phillies catcher J.T. Realmuto wasn’t initially a fan of ABS from a defensive standpoint, but he’s warming up to the idea after successfully utilizing it during a game.

Realmuto challenged a pitch that was called a ball against the Toronto Blue Jays during the Phillies’ fourth spring training game. Offseason acquisition Joe Ross delivered a cutter at the bottom of the zone that Realmuto thought was a strike. The veteran was right, and the call was changed to a strike.

Teams must be confident and strategic with their challenges because they begin each game with only two. If a challenge is successful, the team retains it. The batter, pitcher and catcher are the only ones permitted to challenge a ball-strike call.

Realmuto challenged another call later in the Phillies’ 9-6 win over the Blue Jays, finishing 2-for-2 for his first time using ABS.

“It was definitely a different dynamic, for sure,” Realmuto said about ABS (subscription required), per The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Lochlahn March. “It was nice, though, just having consistent strikes and knowing what were balls and what were strikes. I think it’s going to take a little getting used to just knowing when to challenge and when not to. But overall, so far, so good.”

Although he’s skeptical about how the system will reduce the importance of framing pitches, an essential skill as a catcher, Reamluto enjoys the thought of a more consistent strike zone. The veteran believes umpires will call a tighter zone, resulting in better-quality baseball.

There will be an adjustment period with ABS, but Realmuto and the rest of MLB will have to prepare for the likely change in the near future.