New MN Twins Manager Doesn’t Want Pitchers Challenging Balls/Strikes

Baseball is coming faster than you think. In fact, the Minnesota Twins are just four to five weeks out from invading Fort Myers for Spring Training 2026. Last February/March, the Grapefruit League tested out the new automated balls and strikes system (ABS) for the first time.

In 2026, however, ABS will make its major league regular season debut.

Minor league players have been using the automated balls and strikes system for years now, but there will certainly be a learning curve for established veterans who have never used it beyond Spring Training.

Ultimately, Minnesota Twins manager Derek Shelton will decide how he wants to utilize Major League Baseball’s new challenge system, something he still has some time to think about both before and after exhibition games are played.

Derek Shelton won’t let MN Twins pitchers challenge balls/strikes?

Technically, during any one at-bat where a team has challenges remaining, any of the involved pitcher, hitter or catcher are eligible to challenge a ball or strike. But if Shelton gets the final say, it sounds like pitchers, specifically, will not be allowed to make challenges from the mound for the Twins.

“My early thought — I don’t know if I should say this — I don’t think the pitchers should ever challenge. Pitchers think everything is a strike.” 

Derek Shelton (via Star Tribune)

Shelton believes that pitchers are too emotionally tied to the outcome of each individual offering, to be in charge of challenging an umpire’s original call.

Beyond that, catchers have a better view of what is a ball vs strike, than their teammate. Thus, it does make a lot of sense to take the option to challenge out of a pitcher’s hand altogether.

The Star Tribune’s Bobby Nightengale, who sat down with Shelton for his weekly Extra Innings newsletter, brought some pretty convincing data to help strengthen the new skipper’s argument against pitchers challenging.

When the automated strike zone challenge system was tested during spring training last year, MLB reported the overturn rate was 52.2%. Catchers had a 56% success rate on their challenges, and pitchers had a 41% success rate. Hitters were successful in exactly half their challenges. 

Bobby Nightengale – Star Tribune

Having watched hitters challenge pitches over the past couple of years in St. Paul, it has also been impressive to see their accuracy. It’s incredible how well professionals know their individual strike zones. It’s also consistently apparent how small the margin of error for umpires is.

THANK YOU BASEBALL GODS THE ABS CHALLENGE SYSTEM IS FINALLY BEING TESTED IN MLB GAMES pic.twitter.com/d5Fa0kq6cz

— Codify (@CodifyBaseball) February 20, 2025

As the Minnesota Twins get into spring training, we’ll see if Shelton softens his stance on pitchers challenging. One thing is for sure, as I’ve watched the ABS challenge system rolled out in St. Paul with the Saints, is just how advanced most hitters’ feel for the strike zone really is — not to mention how small the margin of error is for umpires, at that level.

Could Twins generate advantage through ABS?

Just how quickly teams adapt to the new rules will create competitive advantages throughout the league, especially early on after adoption. Situational circumstances and end game results are something that Shelton and Arizona Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo both opined on recently.

“I just don’t want somebody up there randomly in the bottom of the second inning wasting our last challenge and saying that’s the end of it.”

Torey Lovullo – Star Tribune

“I don’t know if anybody has an idea. I guarantee you’re going to see a lot of copycat. You’re going to see every organization watching other organizations and how they attack it. I do think in the first month, month and a half, teams that figure it out are definitely going to have an advantage.” 

Derek Shelton – Star Tribune

The ABS challenge system won’t take away catcher framing, because there are only so many challenges allotted to each team every game. For a team operating on the fringes like the Twins, they need to be at the forefront of any advantages the new challenge system can bring.