The Astros have built one of baseball’s sharpest offenses this season, and now they’re finding another edge in a place most teams are still learning how to use: the ABS Challenge system.
Houston’s lineup has already leaned on Yordan Alvarez, the MVP candidate and All-Star who continues to chase the triple crown. But the story doesn’t stop with Alvarez. The Astros are also leading the league in batter success rate on ABS challenges, a sign that their plate discipline is showing up in a new way.
According to ESPN, Houston has a 61.8 percent success rate on batter challenges as of July 9, the best mark in MLB. The Cincinnati Reds are next at 56.9 percent, a clear gap between first and second. With each team getting only two challenges per game, the Astros have been making theirs count.
Jose Altuve has been one of the biggest beneficiaries. The second baseman is second in MLB with 15 successful challenges, going 15-for-21 for a 71.4 percent success rate. That ranks sixth among all batters in baseball.
Even better for Houston, Altuve isn’t alone at the top. Isaac Paredes has been perfect on ABS so far, going 11-for-11 and standing as the only player in baseball with a flawless success rate.
It fits his profile. Paredes has a sharp eye for the zone and uses it to work deeper into at-bats.
He strikes out at a 16 percent clip, which Baseball Savant places in the 79th percentile.
Altuve’s success has also mattered in a more dramatic way. In the Astros’ 6-4 win over the Minnesota Twins on June 30, he was initially called out on strikes with the bases loaded and two outs, trailing 3-1 in the fourth inning. He won the challenge, drew the bases-loaded walk, and set the table for Alvarez’s go-ahead grand slam.
Houston’s efficiency on ABS goes beyond those two names, too. The Astros are the only team with four players in the top 15 of ESPN’s batter challenge rankings. Christian Walker is 15th at 9-for-16, and Cam Smith is also in the group at 9-for-20.
The one area where Houston has not been nearly as effective is on the pitcher and catcher side. The Astros are at 47.7 percent there, which ranks 29th in MLB.
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