JUST-IN: Matt Olson Is on Fire As He is Dominating and Quietly Having an MVP-Level Year — But This One Red Flag Could Spoil His Season

Braves fans haven’t had much to celebrate during the 2025 season, but Sunday brought a welcome highlight with the news that Chris Sale and Matt Olson were selected for the National League All-Star team.

For Olson and Sale, the honor is well deserved—especially meaningful since they’ll be joining Ronald Acuña Jr. at their home stadium for the All-Star Game. But what’s even more exciting is that Olson might still have another gear to reach in the second half of the season.

Olson’s 2025 turnaround has been impressive—aside from one notable area

To start, it’s important to recognize how strong Olson’s been this year. Heading into Monday, he carried a .267/.368/.489 slash line with 17 home runs and 58 RBIs over 89 games. Defensively, he’s contributed with eight Outs Above Average, and his 138 wRC+ ranks him among the top five first basemen in MLB. Even with all that success, there’s room for improvement.

Olson came out swinging early in the year, launching 12 homers in the first two months. But since June began, he’s only added five more. That’s still respectable—but it falls short of the power production Braves fans have come to expect.

This slight power dip has been part of a larger trend dating back over a year. After blasting a league-best 54 home runs in 2023 and finishing fourth in MVP voting, Olson followed it up with 29 homers in 2024. That’s still a solid number—many hitters would love to reach it—but Olson has set a higher standard.

Since his debut with the Athletics and his arrival in Atlanta in 2022, Olson has been a key piece of the Braves’ offense. However, his power numbers haven’t quite matched his peak. One potential explanation lies in his mechanics: while his hard-hit rate remains unchanged from 2023 at 55.5%, his average launch angle has dipped to 14.2 degrees—down from his 2022–2024 average of 16.1 degrees.

In other words, he’s still hitting the ball with force, just not at the optimal angle for home runs. That could explain why he’s already tallied 23 doubles this season—nearing last year’s total of 27—with three months still to play.

Despite the drop in longballs, Olson’s production hasn’t suffered. He hit .313 in May—his sixth-best monthly average ever—and through six games in July, he’s batting .348. Whether intentional or not, Olson may be shifting toward more contact and consistency, possibly at the expense of some power. That trade-off could benefit the Braves over time.

While fans would love to see another 50-homer season from Olson during the remaining years of his Braves contract, a version of him that bats .300 with 30 homers might be just as valuable.

The Braves may be dealing with a lot this year—but Matt Olson isn’t one of their problems.