MLB's Best, Worst Teams at Using ABS Challenge System Revealed in New Report

Nearly two months into the 2026 MLB season, the sample size of data for the new ABS challenge system has produced some notable results for the best and worst teams at using the system.

Per Baseball Savant (h/t ESPN's Bradford Doolittle), the Minnesota Twins and Colorado Rockies are tied for the best results by run values at 4.4.

Run values measures the actual run value achieved for a team on an overturned challenge minus the expected run value. The Twins and Rockies are the only teams above 4.0, with the New York Yankees in third at 3.8, followed by the Chicago White Sox and Atlanta Braves at 2.9.

At the bottom of the run values chart are the Texas Rangers (minus-1.6), Cincinnati Reds and Boston Red Sox (tied at minus-1.3).

One thing Doolittle pointed out is that the Red Sox are actually tied for third in runs gained per challenge at 0.12, but their 63 total challenges are by far the fewest in MLB that their overall rank is very low.

For comparison, the Arizona Diamondbacks are 29th in challenges at 77. The 14-challenge difference between Boston and Arizona is the same as Arizona and the Pittsburgh Pirates in 18th place with 91 challenges.

The St. Louis Cardinals and Chicago Cubs are tied for first in runs gained per challenge at 0.13.

In terms of overall success rate for hitters, the Texas Rangers top the list at 63 percent with 29 overturned calls on 43 challenges. The Detroit Tigers and Atlanta Braves have had the most strikeouts eliminated on challenges with 10 each.

On the pitching side, the Tigers, Diamondbacks and Cubs are the top three teams. Detroit leads the way with a 76 percent challenge success rate when its pitchers/catchers challenge a call. The Twins have gained an MLB-high 17 strikeouts on challenges from their pitchers/catchers.

Fielders have been much better at challenging calls than batters, with a 59 percent success rate on 1,578 challenges. The success rate for hitters is at 47 percent on 1,359 calls challenged.

There are only five teams with a success rate below 50 percent on challenges issued by fielders, compared to 22 teams under the break-even mark when hitters challenge a call.

Among the most successful individual players at challenging calls, catchers Carson Kelly (84 percent) and Salvador Perez (77 percent) have the best success rate with at least 20 challenges issued.

There are 21 hitters who have issued at least 10 challenges, with Jose Altuve having the highest success rate at 69 percent (nine of 13 calls overturned). James Wood is the worst player from that group with just three overturned calls on 12 challenges.

It may or may not be a coincidence those two have those results given their wildly different physical dimensions. Altuve, who is famously small with a listed height of 5'6", has a very compact strike zone. Wood, on the other hand, is listed at 6'6" with a long frame that stretches his zone.