Diamondbacks among most accurate but careful teams with ABS challenges 50 games in
The Diamondbacks set guidelines on how they wanted to handle the ABS challenge system, and 50 games in, that strategy has led to two conclusions.
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PHOENIX — The Arizona Diamondbacks set clear guidelines on how they wanted to handle the new Automated Ball-Strike (ABS) challenge system, and 50 games in, that strategy has led to two conclusions:
- The Diamondbacks are among the most accurate teams in the league at challenging balls and strikes.
- The Diamondbacks are among the most conservative teams at using their challenges.
The Diamondbacks entered Saturday with the fourth-best win percentage at 60%, trailing the Texas Rangers (62%), Kansas City Royals (61%) and Cincinnati Reds (61%) and tied with the Chicago Cubs.
Their fielders (pitchers and catchers) have worked the fourth-highest hit rate at 69%, as fielders have been much more successful than hitters at challenging calls throughout the league (58% to 47%).
With 85 challenges, the D-backs are ahead of the Rangers (83) and Boston Red Sox (67), and that’s it. Arizona has played two games without ABS in Mexico City against San Diego, but to compare, the Padres entered Saturday having used 96 challenges.
“I’ve been very pleased with it. I want us to get it right. I don’t want to be left without one in the eighth or ninth inning,” manager Torey Lovullo said before Friday’s game. “I don’t want us to challenge twice as much as the other teams and get half of them right. I would rather challenge the ones we know and then take our chances from there.”
The Diamondbacks do not allow their pitchers to challenge, leaning on the catchers to make a less emotional decision. Starting catcher Gabriel Moreno is among the most accurate in the league at 76%.
Lovullo also laid out in spring training the sliding scale they are operating on when it comes to certainty versus leverage.
“I would rather us challenge the ones that we feel really good about, and the importance of the game will dictate if we do challenge when we might not be certain,” Lovullo said.
The Diamondbacks do not want a situation shortstop Geraldo Perdomo found himself in during the World Baseball Classic when he struck out looking at a pitch below the strike zone to end an elimination game.
That said, there is probably more wiggle room to be aggressive.
On Friday, the D-backs did not challenge a pitch against the Colorado Rockies, even though there were a couple instances when it could have helped. Juan Morillo had a strikeout looking in the eighth inning if a ball call were challenged, although the at-bat ended with a ground out three pitches later.
At the same time, there appears to be buy-in with where things stand.
Statcast has a metric called “net overturns over expected,” which includes challenges by and against a team. The Diamondbacks are the fifth-most effective at using ABS because of their accuracy.
“I think we’re pretty selective in the way that we challenge,” catcher Adrian Del Castillo said. “We have our system, and we wait for those crucial moments. We don’t want to waste them. It’s going to happen. … We can be aggressive and be kind of careless, so I’d rather save those for the situations where we need them because you don’t know what the eighth, ninth inning is going to have in store.”
Major League Baseball implemented ABS this season after years of trials in the minor leagues. Big leaguers have used it in spring training over the past two years.
Each team starts the game with two ABS challenges, and they keep them if correct.
Only the batter, pitcher and catcher can challenge a ball or strike, and the challenge has to be made within a couple seconds. A player can challenge by tapping their head.
The Diamondbacks and Rockies continue their series on Saturday at 7:10 p.m. MST on 98.7 and the Arizona Sports app.
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Comments
5 Comments
GOM is old school. Stats (numbers don't lie), put the ball in play, move runners, limit mistakes, execution and discipline. Including manager.
Nicholas: Hit for power, accept strike outs (lots of strike outs) exit velocity, launch angle, an out is an out, love's todays incredible athletes and is OK they lack fundamentals.
Can we meet in the middle?
The fact is that TL does have a losing record. I agree.
When looking at his career, there is one glaringly bad year - 2021 when the DBacks were 58 games under .500. That, too, is a fact.
I look at his overall record as a manager & see modest success. That is not a fact but is an opinion with which you disagree - which is fine. Part of the fun of being a fan is discussing things like managers & players & what could have been.
While the metro Phoenix area is one of the largest population bases in the country, it is not generating nearly that much revenue for the team. In 2024, the DBacks were 21st in the league with total revenue of $276 million. Fact. In 2025, the DBacks ranked 25th in attendance. Fact. While this may be one of the largest metropolitan areas in the country, it is a middle market in baseball terms. As you note, the inability to accept facts does not mean the facts are less viable.
I think that TL is a decent manager. Not a very good manager or a great manager, but a decent manager. You think that the teams the past two years should have made the playoffs & the reason that they didn't is TL. Maybe. I think that one of the problems with a middle market baseball team is that the depth is generally insufficient. It's hard to bring a player up from the minors & expect him to perform like the player he is replacing. In 2025, the DBacks had the 5th highest payroll on the injured list in major league baseball. Fact. That certainly played a role in the inconsistency shown by the DBacks in the past couple of seasons.
When I pointed out the 2021 record, I thought you might not have known that his record was destroyed by one season. I think it is amazing that he wasn't fired in mid-season - that's normally what happens. But, for whatever reason, he was retained. And the 2023 edition (just two years after that colossal failure) nearly won the World Series!
I respect your opinion. Opinions are what keep fans interested. Have a pleasant weekend!
The inability to accept facts does not mean the facts are less viable.
The fact is that TL has a losing record. One day when TL is fired, retired, inducted in the MLB/AZ/Dbacks/etc Hall of Fame, or etc., the various media platforms are going to list his record which will include the 2021 season.
He was the manager of the team in 2021 and he needs to accept the bad with the good. Stop being like Alex Weiner and the other Arizona Sports talking heads and writers who come up with these insane and asinine selective statistics like Pfaadt has an ERA of 0.00 when pitching between the first and third out in the fourth inning in games at Chase Field that occurred on a Wednesday.
There are 162 games in a baseball regular season and everything is based upon 162 games like the standings, etc.
You considered Phoenix to be a middle market?
The Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler metropolitan area is the 10th-largest metro in the U.S. by population with roughly 5.2 million residents, and boasts the 14th-largest metropolitan economy in the country with a GDP approaching $400 billion. Nationally, it routinely ranks as one of the fastest-growing regions (4th) for numeric population increase.
The City of Phoenix proper is the 5th largest city in the U.S., with approximately 1.68 million residents.
Ranks as the No. 5 leading U.S. region for overall growth and has been among the top 10 for net U-Haul one-way customer gains for six straight years
Based upon what? not his record. He is the fifth highest paid manager in the MLB but the Dbacks are not the fifth best team. Haven't made the wild card playoffs for the past two years which they should have made based upon the talent that they had for those two years.
I am not saying that TL is a bad man...I heard that he is a good man but he is a lousy manager. Business is business and personal is personal...nothing personal, strictly business, he isn't that great of a manager.
By the way, the various Arizona Sports talking heads have reported multiple times on their respective shows that TL was on a short leash ("win XX games or you will be gone by the end of the season") for at least three years. Again, if he is a decent manager, why the short leash?
How about changing TL title to 'Management by Committee Spokesperson' or etc? He is the fifth highest paid manager in the MLB. He is earning more than the manager of the New York Yankees but he can't make all of the in-game decisions? TL gets the blame when the team loses but he is not making all of the managerial decisions.