Austin Hedges is preparing to help the Cleveland Guardians train for the new ABS system coming to MLB in 2026.
The Cleveland Guardians have a lot to do this offseason to get themselves ready to be hopefully World Series contenders in 2026.
One of the tasks on the catching group’s to-do list is to get familiar with and master the ABS (automated balls and strikes) challenge system coming to the big leagues next year. For the first time in MLB history, a pitcher or catcher will be able to challenge whether a pitch is a ball or a strike.
After re-signing with the Guardians last week, Austin Hedges took questions from the media about what his offseason will look like.
Something that came up was how Hedges, and the rest of the catching group, plan to prepare for the ABS system, and the veteran said it’s something he’s taking “extremely seriously.”
“It's obviously going to be a big change and we're taking it very seriously. I, you know, personally, I'm taking it extremely seriously,” said Hedges.
Mar 3, 2025; Peoria, Arizona, USA; Cleveland Guardians catcher Austin Hedges against the Seattle Mariners during a spring training game at Peoria Sports Complex. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn ImagesThe catcher did point out that not many players currently playing in the big leagues have a ton of experience using the challenge system, and that the only catchers and hitters who are used to it were those who spent time in Triple-A last season.
For Hedges, he plans to use this as a competitive advantage.
“I can promise you, I'm me personally and anybody that I'll be talking to this offseason. It's priority number one, is being the best in the world at the challenge system. That's both offensively and defensively.”
So, how does one get ready to challenge balls and strikes? Hedges sheds a little light on what his plan this offseason will be to prepare for this major shift in baseball.
“I'm going to be spending a lot of time in Cleveland this offseason, with Grant Fink, our hitting coach… and really one of my main goals is to figure out the best way to train the challenge system,” explained the catcher.
“If you're gonna be taking a certain amount of swings, their catchers gonna be taking a certain amount of reps receiving, a good portion of that needs to be in a certain way to practice the challenge system, practice knowing where that zone is. And so, I'm going to do my best to with the rest of you know, our staff is to build some type of training system that allows us to work on it in the off-season, especially in spring training, and then throughout the season, so that we can be the best in the league at it.”
This type of knowledge and behind-the-scenes work is a perfect example of why the Guardians chose to re-sign him in the first place. The 33-year-old is the best catcher in baseball to help usher the organization into the next era of baseball.