Schneider, Kirk to lead the way for Blue Jays on Automated Ball-Strike challenges

By Canadian Press on February 23, 2026.

Davis Schneider and Alejandro Kirk will have the green light, George Springer and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. probably have a yellow.

Everyone else will sit on red, at least at first, as the Toronto Blue Jays get used to Major League Baseball’s new Automated Ball-Strike Challenge System in regular-season games.

Manager John Schneider said that, at least early in the pre-season, there is a firm hierarchy for who can and can’t challenge umpire calls using the new instant-replay system.

His logic is that Davis Schneider and Kirk have proven that they have a firm sense of the strike zone and that Springer and Guerrero — when in the right frame of mind — do as well.

But the rest of the team will need to prove themselves.

“Right now, probably Schneid and Kirky have got the green light to challenge,” said John Schneider when asked about it on Feb. 12. “I think it’s really going to help a few guys, honestly, that we have on our team.

“George commands his zone really well. I’ve learned to know when and when not to believe Vladimir on a called strike or out/safe call.”

ABS allows players to appeal the strike-zone judgments of home-plate umpires immediately after a call and without the assistance of the dugout or other players. Only three players are eligible to challenge an umpire’s call: the batter, the pitcher, or the catcher.

Each team starts the game with two challenges (more are allotted in extra innings), and a successful challenge is retained. That’s where the gamesmanship comes in.

“I think the biggest thing is, when you’re using it, is it really a good time to do it?” asked John Schneider rhetorically. “What’s the base state? What’s the pitcher’s pitch count? How high leverage is this spot right here? So those are things we’ve got to address.”

That’s why John Schneider plans on having his players — save Davis Schneider and Kirk — on a short leash.

“We’re going to have some dry runs at the stadium next week on the video board,” said Schneider, referring to the fact that all challenges will be displayed on the scoreboard of MLB stadiums.

“It’ll probably take a little bit of time, but we’re going to do everything we can to try to get some real live reps and get guys knowledgeable of what is and is not a strike for them.”

The challenge system has been tested in baseball’s minor leagues since 2022 and was given a trial run in spring training last year. That’s why Davis Schneider, who played in three different levels of the Blue Jays’ minor-league system in 2022 and bounced between triple-A Buffalo and Toronto in 2023 and 2025, is considered the resident expert.

“I love it as a hitter. It’s a true strike zone, too,” he said. “There’s some kinks that sometimes it might not always be exact or something like that, but I liked it.

“I feel like it’s a true strike zone. You’re not going to have a human element in it, which I think is the right way. A strike should be a strike. A ball should be a ball.”

Some teams, including the Blue Jays, are discouraging their pitchers from tapping their caps and calling for a challenge.

“When we were talking about it in the off-season, we were talking about trying to take as much power out of the pitcher’s hands (…) and let the catchers and hitters kind of drive the challenges,” said John Schneider. “I think when guys do get to see it and really get a baseline of what the top of the zone is, what the bottom of the zone is, I think that that’ll be beneficial.”

Kirk, considered one of the best pitch framers in baseball, said he planned on being conservative in his use of the challenge system.

“If I see an opportunity, of course I’m going to do it,” said the catcher through translator Hector Lebron. “But I’m not gonna make major changes on that, on challenging or not.

“I’m just going to follow the plan with my pitcher, and if I see something that I know is going to be decisive, then I’ll challenge.”

Davis Schneider said that he and Kirk’s mastery of the strike zone goes beyond having a sense of its dimensions — their height is also a factor.

Schneider is listed at five-foot-nine, while Kirk is listed at five-foot-eight.

“I feel like guys who know the zone and don’t get emotional and obviously have a small strike zone can challenge a little bit more,” said Schneider. “Because the bigger the strike zone, like (six-foot-seven New York Yankees slugger) Aaron Judge is going to have not a tough time, but he’s got such a bigger zone.

“I feel like the big guys are going to get screwed a little bit just because of how up and down it is, but the smaller guys are going to get a little bit more benefits out of it.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 23, 2026.

John Chidley-Hill, The Canadian Press