One skill, two ways to use it
The ABS challenge system has an intrinsic reward component. The teams that understand the strike zone and hold the arbiters accountable are the teams that can use the strike zone to their advantage. A catcher with a good read on the zone can challenge a ball call that should have been a strike and turn the count back in the pitcher's favor. A batter with that same read can do the reverse, confronting a strike call that was questionable and keeping his at-bat alive.
It's the same underlying skill facing two different directions, and in 2026, most teams are only good at using it one way.
The catchers: Who's actually stealing strikes among MLB's division leaders
Using Statcast's ABS challenge leaderboard, the Atlanta Braves are the only current division leader inside the top 10 on the defensive side, sitting sixth overall. The Tampa Bay Rays sit 13th and the Los Angeles Dodgers are occupying the 14th spot, both hovering right around league average in challenging errant ball calls.
Then we have to drop below league average to find the other three division leaders. Houston is 20th, in the red. The Brewers are 29th out of 30, and the White Sox are dead last in the entire sport, worse than every rebuilding also-ran and every non-contender in baseball at getting a call flipped their way behind the plate.
There is a tool to get more called strikes, yet it is not being used as an advantage for teams holding onto a division lead.
The hitters: Who's actually stealing balls among MLB's division leaders
That leaderboard order scrambles completely on the batter's side. Houston jumps to sixth in baseball at getting strikes overturned into balls. Atlanta holds steady at 11th, solidly positive on both ends. The White Sox climb to 13th here, actually respectable at the plate even while being the league's worst defensively.
Again, we have to go below league average to find the remaining division leaders. The Brewers and Dodgers sit 20th and 21st, respectively, both still in the red. Tampa Bay, merely mediocre on defense, is dead last in all of baseball on offense, worse at winning back a strike call than every other team in the sport — including three teams currently on pace to lose 90-plus games.
The only MLB team succeeding at both ends of the ABS challenge system
Exactly one division leader is above average on both sides: Atlanta, sixth defensively and 11th offensively, the only team getting real value out of the system in both directions.
Houston has hitters who win calls back and a pitching staff that gets no help at all from its catchers. Tampa Bay is average behind the plate and historically bad in the box. The White Sox and Brewers are bad-to-terrible on defense with offense that ranges from decent to poor.
Imagine how much better any of these teams would be if they actually understood the assignment.
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