Is it time to give up on Matt Olson?
Matt Olson was arguably a top-5 player in the National League last season, smashing 54 home runs and being the best first basemen in baseball, on the team with the best record in baseball in the Atlanta Braves. But, Olson has had a rough start to the season, and many people are asking: Is it time to give up on Matt Olson?
Last season, as said, Matt Olson hit a league high 54 home runs. He did this with just a decent batting average of .283, and also a .993 OPS and an incredible 7.4 WAR. (Wins Above Replacement) For example, an average All-Star has a 3-6 WAR, and a typical MVP candidate has anywhere from a 7-8 WAR. The NL MVP last season Ronald Acuna, had a 8.2 WAR, which is just barely better than Olson's. This shows just how good Matt Olson was last season and what he is capable of.
This season, Olson is currently ranked as the 16th best first basemen in baseball, and only has 113 points on the season. To put this in perspective, his teamate Marcell Ozuna has 271 points and even Josh Bell has the same amount of points as Olson does this season. He also is averaging a lackluster 3.6 points per game, which is just not getting it done for your fantasy team.
Matt Olson's statline on the season is looking like trash. He currently has a .200 batting average, .313 OBP, and .352 slugging percentage, and he is looking like a shell of his former self. He also only has a 0.3 WAR, which means the Braves are the same with him on the field vs him off the field. His strikeout percentage is also at a all time high with 25.2%.
Despite all these facts about how terrible Matt Olson has been this season, we would highly advise you to not trade him. He is still Matt Olson after all. Every player gets into a slump in a season, and Olson's slump is just right now in the first month. He won't hit another 54 home runs this season, but don't expect him to just roll over and die. We predict that by the end of the fantasy baseball season, Matt Olson will be a top-10 first basemen in fantasy baseball.