The Miami Marlins used spring training to build a detailed plan for MLB’s new ABS challenge system, with catchers taking the lead in key decisions.
The Miami Marlins did not treat MLB’s new Automated Ball-Strike challenge system like a springtime experiment.
According to MLB.com’s Christina De Nicola, the team approached the technology as something that could directly affect games once the regular season begins.
At spring camp, the Marlins established a daily process to ensure their players were not reacting to ABS on the fly. Instead, they wanted their catchers and hitters to develop clear habits before the season started. That preparation appears to have paid off.
During Grapefruit League play, Miami’s catchers produced the fifth-best successful overturn rate in the challenge system at 67 percent, a sign the club’s early emphasis on training was not just theoretical.
Manager Clayton McCullough told De Nicola the Marlins gave their catchers more freedom than hitters throughout camp because the organization wanted that group to become especially sharp with challenge decisions.
That choice makes sense. Miami has already placed more responsibility on its catchers in recent years for receiving, framing, and game control, and ABS adds another layer. Now they not only have to handle the staff and manage the game behind the plate, but also instantly decide whether a borderline pitch is worth challenging.
That is why the Marlins made the catchers the only players allowed to challenge on defense.
According to De Nicola's reporting, director Maxx Garrett helped lead a structured training program that included cage work and Hawkeye-based simulations at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium. The club reportedly tested catchers with everything from high-velocity sliders to intentionally misplaced pitches, creating a more realistic environment than simple drill work.
The bigger takeaway is that Miami seems to understand ABS will reward preparation more than emotion. Rather than letting pitchers react out of frustration, the Marlins are trusting the player with the best angle and the most information in real time. Veteran right-hander Chris Paddack backed that thinking, saying the catcher has the best view and that pitchers would probably challenge too often if given control.
The Marlins also gave hitters guidelines on when to use challenges, especially in high-leverage situations such as two-strike counts or runners in scoring position. That measured approach matters. McCullough made it clear to De Nicola the club wants challenges used in meaningful moments, not wasted on impulse.
For a team looking for edges, this is one more example of Miami trying to be deliberate. The ABS system may be new, but the Marlins are clearly trying to make sure their response to it is already polished.
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