Atlanta Braves, Matt Olson. (Photo by Megan Briggs/Getty Images)
Braves Rumors: Matt Olson disgusted with himself over strikeouts
It’s hard to complain too much about what Matt Olson has done for the Braves this season. After all, the prized trade acquisition from last offseason tied for the Atlanta lead in home runs (11) and has the most walks drawn (33) while posting 30 RBI as well, third best on the team.
Unfortunately, he also leads the Braves in strikeouts with a shocking 63, 11 more than anyone else on the team and, moreover, the most in baseball so far this season. A big problem has been him swinging and missing, giving him one of the worst whiff rates in MLB as well.
This isn’t a problem that Olson is oblivious to, however. After Atlanta’s come-from-behind win over the Rangers to take the series on Wednesday night, David O’Brien of The Athletic (subscription required) described the first baseman as being “disgusted” by his strikeouts, particularly with his swings and misses.
O’Brien noted that Olson has almost double the number of strikeouts with runners on base than he has hits on the year. More importantly, though, the first baseman and Braves coaches are working to fix a swing mechanics issue that they believe is causing the problem, which we saw some positive signs from against Texas in the first two games before he went 0-for-4 with two Ks in the finale.
At 27-16 on the season, the Braves are doing more than just fine. But if they get Olson striking out less, on base even more and back to raking like he was right out of the gate this year, they could be winning even more.
