Matt Olson came on the scene HOT. Through Olson’s first 59 games, 189 at bats, Olson hit 24 home runs and had an OPS of 1.003. Pretty decent for a guy the year before had his first cup of coffee with the league and went 2-21. Is this the year Olson puts it all together and possibly reaches that 40 home runs plateau?

My answer is yes. But what do I know? I know a lot about a little. Other than that, just a blank canvas with a lot of writing and learning to do. Anyways, Olson has had a strange little career thus far.

The next year after his rookie break-out party that I wasn’t invited too, Olson played in all 162 games but slashed .247/.335/.453– .788 OPS, that ranked 70th out of all qualifiers that year. Of course that came with 29 home runs, 84 RBI’s, 85 runs and a 70/163 BB/K ratio. Stats that aren’t bad for a first full season player, but for a guy who was averaging a home run every 7.8 at bats, the baseball world gave the man unnecessarily high expectations.

Then came 2019, Olson, who only ended up playing in 127 games which resulted in 483 at bats, hit a career high 36 home runs, 91 RBI’s, 73 runs, and slashed .267/.351/.545–.896 OPS. With this trend in Olson’s career, it seems he is doing better playing LESS games than more. Olson was hit with a hand injury that many didn’t expect him to come back so strong last season and he proved doubters wrong in a big way.

This leads up to 2020. There’s no question a break out is coming, the real question is when? With the power Olson possess, it’s only a matter of time before it all clicks and he becomes one of the leagues best power hitters. Even with half his games in probably one of the worst ball parks in baseball, Olson still has the potential to show the baseball world that he is going to be one of baseballs best power hitters for years to come. This could be the year and I would bet on Olson finally reaching the plateau of 40 home runs for the first time in his career.

P.S- Eric Hanhold of the Baltimore Orioles is shoving this spring. This could be the year he breaks out to.