Robot umpires taking over the MLB won't happen in 2024, per commissioner Rob Manfred via ESPN. The automatic ball-strike system (ABS) is being used in half of the games at the Triple-A level this season. MLB is unlikely to adopt the change next season.

“I think there's some sentiment among the group that we made a lot of changes here,” Manfred said after an owner's meeting on Thursday. “We ought to let the dust settle, and there are clearly unresolved operational issues with respect to ABS. Despite all the testing, we still have some things that are unresolved.”

ABS was first tested for calling balls and strikes at the 2019 Independent Atlantic League All-Star Game. The minor leagues serve as a testing ground for many of the changes recently implemented at the major league level.

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Among those changes, one of the most successful and popular moves is the pitch clock. It's tenure in MLB is still short-lived, but it has made a drastic increase in the pace of the game. Average game time is down by nearly half an hour from 2022, and MLB's average attendance is up by 2,000.

“Still being a believer in the truism that the big leagues are different, the fact of the matter is the outcomes so far have looked very much like what we saw in the experimentation in minor league baseball, both in terms of game time, number of violations per game, the number of violations coming down over time,” Manfred said.

Given the trajectory MLB is on to address its declining popularity, computerized strike zones seem inevitable. While the kinks get worked out in the minors, it's just a matter of time before ABS reaches the big leagues.