New ABS stats reveal Orioles long time development strategy to be a success

Now that the ABS challenge system is officially a part of Major League Baseball, the race is on for teams to be the best at challenging and overturning calls. After one week of games, the early returns are in, and the early leader in the clubhouse is the Baltimore Orioles.

This comes as a bit of a surprise, as the Orioles were among the teams that challenged the least during spring training. Whether the Orioles are doing a bit or rope-a-doping the league into thinking they didn't know how the challenge system worked, they're at the top of the leaderboard in calls overturned over expectation.

It's not particularly close either; the difference between the Orioles and the second-best team is 3.3 overturns. That's the same difference between the second-place Reds and the eighth-place Chicago Cubs. If net overturns over expectations sounds like a fake stat invented by nerds to gatekeep you from ever understanding baseball, the Orioles also lead in several other significant categories.

Orioles' extreme emphasis on plate discipline when drafting and developing their players is paying off

Baltimore's 86% success rate on the challenge is first in the league by a lot. That might lead you to believe that maybe they're being too cautious and only challenging when it's obvious, but the Orioles are also 3rd in the league in total challenges and challenges won, so they're tapping their heads more than almost any other team in the league.

The Orioles' challenge attack is balanced; they are fourth in the league in offensive challenges won and second in the league in defensive challenges won, so both the batters and the catchers are pulling their weight. It's also interesting to note that the Orioles have already eliminated three walks this season with the challenge system; the most walks any other team has eliminated is one, and the majority of teams have not erased any walks.

How are the Orioles doing this? It's a team effort. When it comes to getting value from challenges, the most important thing is to have challenges in the quiver when the need to challenge arises. The worst teams in the league often blow their two challenges early in the game and then just don't have the opportunity to use them in more important moments. It's important that the Orioles don't have players going rogue, burning their challenges on vanity calls. The Orioles have lost only two challenges all year; they've ended every game with at least one challenge still available.

Accuracy is important. Pete Alonso, Coby Mayo, Gunnar Henderson, Colton Cowser, Ryan Mountcastle, Adley Rutschman, and Ryan Helsley are all perfect on the season, and that's how you have a game where you overturn five bad calls, including two missed strikes in the bottom of the ninth.

The only player to lose a challenge is Basallo, who has lost two. That is still a totally acceptable number, especially considering that he has been very good at challenging from the catching position, winning three challenges in just two starts behind the plate. Basallo actually has the highest percentage of reasonable pitches challenged out of any catcher in the league. If anything, the Orioles pitchers would benefit from Rutschman challenging a little more often.

All in all, it's not that surprising that the Orioles excel at this. One of the things they have emphasized for years to all their minor league prospects is plate discipline. It's such a focus that almost every Oriole prospect who debuts suffers growing pains from being too passive and taking too many pitches. Now that excessive focus on plate discipline is paying off. These young Orioles players know the zone well; they are all going to be very accurate, and as the season goes on and their confidence grows, the volume of calls overturned is going to increase dramatically.