Why Royals catcher Salvador Perez is thriving in baseball's ABS Challenge system

Jaylon Thompson, The Kansas City Star on May 18, 2026

Published in Baseball

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Major League Baseball introduced the Automatic Ball-Strike (ABS) Challenge System this season as its latest in-game innovation.

And it’s been met with satisfactory approval.

The Kansas City Royals have certainly utilized ABS to their advantage. It seems like Royals catchers Salvador Perez, Carter Jensen and Elias Diaz find themselves on the right side of challenges fairly often.

The trio entered Sunday’s game with a 37-24 record in ABS challenges. Collectively, they have successfully challenged six strikes and overturned four balls.

Perez is leading the way by operating at a 78% clip. On Sunday, he showcased his proficiency by successfully overturning a ball just off the plate.

It happened in the third inning. Perez tapped his catcher’s helmet and signaled for an ABS challenge.

Within seconds, Perez was proven correct in his judgment. He astutely noted that the incoming pitch was a strike — much to the appreciation of Royals starter Stephen Kolek.

“Kolek was saying, ‘No (it’s a) ball,’” Perez said, before adding with a chuckle: “Pitchers should not be challenging because I know where the ball is going.”

Perez said it jokingly, but Kolek agreed.

“I kind of had the notion that I thought it was maybe like a half-inch off the plate,” Kolek said. “And he was like, ‘Oh, why didn’t you tell me?’ And sure enough, he was right. I’m like, ‘That’s why you got the reins on that for sure. So, I’m going to keep trusting you.’”

That trust helped Kolek pitch 6 1/3 scoreless innings against the Cardinals. He earned his second victory surrendering just four hits and registering three strikeouts.

Perez, meanwhile, also did well at the plate on Sunday. He finished 2-for-2 with a home run and a sacrifice fly as the Royals snapped a six-game losing streak.

“Yeah, he’s got this thing down,” Royals manager Matt Quatraro said of Perez’s ABS challenge mastery. “I don’t know what his success rate is, but he has been really good.”

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