Astros' plans for how to use the new ABS system include a surprising wrinkle

2026 will be a big year for the sport of baseball. The upcoming World Baseball Classic and possible labor stoppage have been dominating headlines due to their sheer scale of impact, but at the end of last season, it was announced that it would also be the first season to see the adoption of the Automated Ball-Strike System.

The name might lead you to believe that it removes the need for home plate umpires altogether, but it's being rolled out as more of a challenge system, at least at first. The ability to challenge a pitch will be limited to just three people: the batter, pitcher, and catcher. Offensively, this makes the decision-making process simple. Defensively, more coordination between the battery is required, but the Astros have a plan to address potential issues.

The Astros will leave all pitch challenge responsibilities to the catcher

In a recent report for MLB.com, Brian McTaggart detailed how Houston is preparing to handle this new mechanic. The players have already gone over the rules and best practices, and more importantly, the team decided that catchers will be the only ones making defensive challenges.

The reasoning is simple — catchers are far closer to the strike zone than pitchers. Furthermore, catchers should have a better understanding of the zone from years of framing pitches behind the dish. Yainer Diaz hasn't been the best defensive catcher throughout his career, but even he can accurately gauge the strike zone to within a few inches.

Manager Joe Espada emphasized the importance of challenge accuracy since each team only has two. Similar to manager challenges, ABS challenges will be retained if the call is overturned, but lost if the umpire's original call is upheld.

Originally, the introduction of an ABS system was theorized to threaten the very art of pitch framing and painting the corners of the strike zone. This middle ground still allows bad calls to be corrected, but it also adds a new skill that players will have to master in and around the batter's box.

For once, it feels like Houston is answering questions with some definitiveness. Spring training for the Astros this year has been otherwise rife with uncertainty. From an infield logjam with no clear resolution in sight to players having total positional uncertainty, the organization seems uncharacteristically disorganized and unprepared.

The team still has more than a month to go before they have to start setting other things in stone, but it's rarely a good look for a team to be so unsure. It may not be much, but acting decisively around something is a tiny step in the right direction. For now, ABS seems like the least of the Astros' challenges heading into the 2026 season.