Atlanta Braves Slugger Matt Olson

Atlanta Braves slugger Matt Olson has struggled at points this season. Through 114 games, he is hitting .227/.306/.414 with 18 home runs and 54 runs batted in, which is far from how he looked last season.

This is unfortunate as Atlanta has needed him to step up this season with their stars injured. They lost Ronald Acuna Jr. after he tore his ACL and Spencer Strider after undergoing UCL surgery.

Braves’ reporter Grant McAuley has become concerned with how Olson has looked this season. The inconsistencies at the plate are unlike him, especially after having such a great 2023 season.

“For Matt Olson, there have been some streaks of baseball that again, I don’t know anybody could have expected, even for somebody who has had a couple of those before. He had a long homerless streak to start the year, then he figured it out in June and then all of a sudden went into another long funk,” – said McAuley.

Olson went from having one of the best seasons in 2023 to having arguably the worst season of his career this year. However, he would be the first person to tell you that he has been struggling.

“He’s well aware of the numbers not being where they need to be and when Matt came over from Oakland, we talked about his hitting style. This is no secret, he is a slugger. This is a guy looking to lift the ball, looking to hit home runs, [and] looking to drive the ball” – said McAuley.

Atlanta Braves – Matt Olson (Image via Imagn)
Matt Olson and the Braves are coming off a rough home series against the Milwaukee Brewers. They were swept three games to none and did not stand a chance in two of the games.

They were outscored 12-34, and it got so bad that infielder Luke Williams came in to pitch twice. Losing the series has allowed the New York Mets to overtake them in the National League East.

Atlanta has won the NL East consecutively for the last six seasons, and that streak is in jeopardy. They need Olson and others to start getting hot and turn this season around while they still have the chance.

The Philadelphia Phillies currently lead the division and hold an 8.5 game advantage over the Braves.