An Atlanta Braves player who could be in the Home Run Derby: Matt Olson
Say what you will about Olson’s consistent strikeout and low average, but when it comes to driving runners in or hitting the ball out of the park, Olson has been the best at both. It is very helpful to bat behind Ronald Acuna Jr. in that the likely MVP is consistently on base and, if not on an extra-base hit, usually steals his way into scoring position.
Olson leads the National League in RBI and homers, only trailing the entire league by two homers behind Shohei Ohtani and one RBI behind Adolis Garcia. This is by far Olson’s most impressive season when it comes to power numbers, already having 29 homers and showing no signs of slowing down.
While you wouldn’t want to mess with Olson’s swing, the idea of him in the Home Run Derby is by far the most exciting of Atlanta’s obvious options. The only issue for Olson would be the fact that his homers are simply hit far too well.
Hitting blasts that would take far too long to come down for the next pitch in a Derby event that is completely focused on consistent quick home run swings. Regardless, Olson would be fun to watch in the event and is more than deserving of a slot.