Matt Olson has always had a unique, maybe even unorthodox, batting stance. A 2022 tweak to that stance and swing might be a contributing factor to the slugger's explosion of power, Alex Anthopoulos told The Steakhouse on Tuesday.
The Atlanta Braves' general manager told Steak Shapiro and Sandra Golden that if he we playing "Buy or Sell?" Anthopoulos would absolutely be buying Olson's offensive spike we've seen during Spring Training. Through 52 spring plate appearances, Olson is slashing an MVP-like .432/.519/1.023 with eighth home runs and 18 RBI.
Here's why Anthopoulos thinks the numbers feel legit.
"The one thing that makes it feel more real is he made an adjustment to his stance and his swing going into the Mets series last year, right at the end of the year. And he had a monster series," the Braves' GM said. "And you talk about Jacob deGrom, Max Scherzer. He had a huge series. He carried that over into the series against the Phillies where he was facing Zach Wheeler and Nola, and so on.
"So, there's a story here when you look at how well he's performing, the adjustments he made at the end of last year and it carries over against premium starters, into the postseason, and into Spring Training."
Since that adjustment, Olson has 14 home runs and 30 RBI in just 94 plate appearances. His batting average is .392 if you combine those six games at the end of 2022, the four postseason games, and his play this spring.