How the Phillies have fared one month into the ABS system

Q: How many challenges have the Philadelphia Phillies issued this season?

The Philadelphia Phillies have issued a total of 59 challenges, ranking them 25th in Major League Baseball.

Q: What is J.T. Realmuto's success rate for challenges this season?

J.T. Realmuto has a success rate of 86% for challenges, having been correct six out of seven times.

Q: Which Phillies player has issued the most challenges as a hitter?

Kyle Schwarber has issued the most challenges as a hitter for the Phillies, with a total of eight challenges.

Q: How does the Phillies' challenge success rate compare to other teams?

The Phillies have a challenge success rate of 51%, which places them 21st in MLB, while the Arizona Diamondbacks lead with a 64% accuracy.

PHILADELPHIA, PA - APRIL 15: J.T. Realmuto #10 of the Philadelphia Phillies (wearing #42 in honor of Jackie Robinson) looks on during the game between the Chicago Cubs and the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park on Wednesday, April 15, 2026 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Rob Tringali/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images The automated ball and strike system is here to stay, and we’ve already seen its impact around baseball. It seems that the general consensus between players, fans, and media after one month of the new system is that it’s a welcome improvement that also adds a bit of a new strategy wrinkle to games. So, let’s take this opportunity to see how the Phillies have utilized their ABS challenges and how successful they’ve been after the month of April. As a team, the Phillies are near the bottom of the league in total number of challenges issued, with their 59 challenges entering play on Monday ranking 25th in baseball. They’ve been correct in their challenge 51% of the time, putting them at 21st in baseball. For comparison, the Minnesota Twins have issued the most challenges with 97 but they’ve only been correct 54% of the time, putting them 13th in accuracy. Meanwhile the Arizona Diamondbacks have been the most accurate in their challenges, as they were correct 64% of the time despite ranking 28th in total challenges issued. As may have been expected, J.T. Realmuto has been one of the best at challenging pitches as a catcher. He’s done it seven times and has been correct six times. It’s a small sample as Realmuto has just returned from the injured list, but his 86% success rate has him tied for fifth best among catchers who have issued at least five challenges so far. However, the Phillies other two catchers have not had the same amount of success. has only issued two challenges, getting one right and one wrong. meanwhile has challenged 16 pitches in his 16 games in the majors this year and has a 50%-win rate. That half and half win percentage ties Marchán for the ninth worst rate among all catchers who have issued at least 15 challenges. An early trend league wide is that many teams are not allowing their pitchers to challenge pitches. It’s a logical position, as pitchers could be too emotional or not in a good position to actually see where the pitch ended up. However, the Phillies are one team that has allowed their pitches to challenge, and Cristopher Sánchez and are among the league leaders in challenges issued. Of course, the league lead is only three challenges held by old friend . Nevertheless, Sánchez and Luzardo have both challenged two pitches with the former being 0-2 and the latter being 1-1. was the first and only other Phillies pitcher to challenge this year and he was unsuccessful on one attempt. Phillies hitters have issued 29 challenges, placing them 19th among all teams. Their 48%-win rate is among the top half of the league though, ranking 12th best. has issued the most challenges as a hitter for the Phillies with 8 which also puts him in an eight-way tie for the fifth most among all hitters league wide. Schwarber has won five challenges and lost three, giving him a success rate of 63% that is 12th best among all hitters who have issued at least five challenges. He’s also the only Phillies hitter to attempt a challenge more than three times, with , , , and Justin Crawford all tied for second place. Bohm has been the most successful of that group, going 2-3 while Harper and Turner are both 1-3. Crawford so far is 0-3 and is the only Phillies to have issued more than one challenge that has not been correct yet, an interesting early development considering Crawford played with the ABS all of last season in Triple-A. He wasn’t particularly good at it there either though, as Crawford went 3-10 on challenges in 2025. These are just some of the early trends through one month of the ABS system. It will be fascinating to see if teams and players adjust their strategies as everyone around Major League Baseball gets more comfortable with the idea of being able to challenge balls and strikes.