The Los Angeles Dodgers have struggled to utilize MLB’s Automated Ball-Strike (ABS) system well as an overall group, and that has not improved as the season has gone on.
Their issues were highlighted on Monday in the series opener against the Kansas City Royals.
In the third inning, Andy Pages challenged the first pitch he saw after a fastball in the zone was called for a strike. The situation came with two outs and a runner on second base, and being early in the game with the Dodgers down by two runs, it could be considered a medium-leverage situation.
Then in the fourth inning, Miguel Rojas challenged a strike call on a fastball completely in the zone that put him into a 1-1 count. Given it was early in the count with no one on base to start the fourth inning, the Dodgers’ final ABS challenge was wasted in a low-leverage spot.
Then in a high-leverage spot late in the game, the Dodgers didn’t have a challenge available when it would have been beneficial. In a tie game with a runner on first, Pages was called out on strikes on a 3-2 pitch that was inside and a good bit off the zone.
Pages was frustrated with the call and seemingly went to tap his helmet before remembering the Dodgers were out of challenges. Because they wasted them early in the game, the team turned what would have been two on with no outs in a tie game during the seventh inning to just one on and one out.
The Dodgers need to be smarter about when they challenge pitches, and that’s something manager Dave Roberts is aware of and wants his team to improve on.
“We’re going to keep having those conversations, yeah,” Roberts said. “We’ve gotten sideways on that.”
Overall, the Dodgers still have a 54% success rate when hitting, which is tied for fourth overall in MLB. Their catchers and pitchers have posted a 60% success rate, which ranks tied for 11th.
Their overall success in the batter’s box is due in large part to their run of challenges in May and June that were above league average in both won percentage and their reasonable challenge rate.
But in July, the Dodgers seemingly lost any idea of when to challenge when at the plate. They won 50% of their challenges, but their reasonable challenge rate was only 57%, roughly 20% below where it was in the prior months.
They also had -2.6 overturns versus expected, which ranked near the bottom of the league.
Getting their challenge success addressed and using them in more ideal spots could go a long way to helping them in the postseason, and it would be devastating to use them in a low-leverage spot in October when they might need one later in a big moment.
Andy Pages leading ABS challenge system struggles
Pages has been the biggest culprit of abusing the challenge system. His 23 challenges are nine more than anyone else on the team, and he’s won at the third-lowest rate among their active players with a 48% success rate.
Overall, Pages has -1.2 overturns versus the expected amount, and his -0.6 net runs for is among the worst in MLB. His 57% reasonable challenge rate is also among the worst in the league among players who have challenged at least five pitches.
Alex Call has also been on the wrong end of the challenge system with just a 40% success rate and -0.3 net runs for. He has just 10 attempts, but that has come in significantly limited playing time.
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