Matt Olson is Making Progress
6 years agoOakland Athletics first baseman Matt Olson (hand) took batting practice on Friday, so that's a step in the right direction for him. He suffered a fractured hamate bone during the season-opening series on March 21. Olson is expected to come off the injured list in a week or so. Kendrys Morales will play first base and bat fifth versus righty Marcus Stroman on Friday. Morales isn't a great fantasy option for this contest.
Source: Susan Slusser
Source: Susan Slusser
Matt Olson Homers, Plates Five Monday
7 months agoAtlanta Braves first baseman Matt Olson had a nice game at the plate in Monday's 10-6 win over the Twins. Olson went 3-for-5 with two doubles, a three-run home run, five RBI, and a strikeout. The 30-year-old helped cap off a big first inning, launching a Bailey Ober cutter into the second right-center deck for his 23rd HR of the season. Olson has had a disappointing season overall, but August has been relatively better. He is now slashing .247/.340/.528 with six HR and 21 RBI in 89 August at-bats. Olson's batting average has varied throughout his career, but he has always provided elite power, so fantasy managers should be happy to see him finally start to produce in that regard as the fantasy playoffs approach.
Source: MLB.com
Source: MLB.com
Matt Olson Homers, Scores Three Times In Win
7 months agoAtlanta Braves first baseman Matt Olson went 2-for-4 with a solo home run and three runs scored in Wednesday's 13-2 win over the Giants. The 30-year-old also walked once and the hits extended his current hit streak to six games. After blasting 54 home runs last season, it took some time for Olson to get going this season with just 13 of them as of July 26 (102 games), but since then the 2x All-Star has hit eight in his last 18 games. Strikeouts are up big for him compared to last season and walks are down big which has contributed to the underperformance, but last season Olson slashed .352/.452/.695 with 11 home runs over the final month of the season, so he may just be heating up for that final stretch.
Source: ESPN
Source: ESPN
Matt Olson Homers Twice, Drives In Six Runs
7 months agoAtlanta Braves first baseman Matt Olson went 2-for-4 with a walk and a pair of home runs in Saturday's 11-8 win over the Rockies, bringing his season total to 20. The first home run was a grand slam in the third inning and the second was a two-run blast in the seventh. The 2023 home run leader (54) has taken a while to get going but now has seven home runs in his last 14 games along with 16 RBI. Olson is striking out much more this year than last, 23.2% last season compared to 28.0% this season, despite a slightly higher contact rate this year. The 30-year-old's barrel rate has dropped nearly 5.0% as well, leading to a big dip in home runs. Hopefully he can finish strong, as he did in 2023, but right now his .230-20-60-50-0 line has to be a disappointment for fantasy managers that drafted him.
Source: ESPN
Source: ESPN
Matt Olson Hits Ninth Home Run In Loss
10 months agoAtlanta Braves first baseman Matt Olson went 2-for-4 with a double and a home run in Saturday's 11-9 loss to the Athletics. The 2x All-Star also walked once, scored once, and collected two RBI in the contest. After a poor 31-game start that left his slashline at .195/.319/.363 with three home runs, the slugger has picked up the pace, going 28-for-95 (.295) with six home runs over his last 25 games and raising his season-long slashline to a more respectable .240/.328/.447. Fantasy managers may find some solace in the fact that the slugger started off 2023 slowly as well, but from June 1 through the end of the season, he hit .309 with 37 home runs, 97 RBI, and 83 runs scored.
Source: ESPN
Source: ESPN