Matt Olson Addresses His 2015 FanGraphs Scouting Report

Matt Olson is having an outstanding career. Since breaking into the big leagues late in the 2016 season, the 31-year-old first baseman has blasted 273 home runs — including 54 in 2023 — while logging a 132 wRC+. A left-handed hitter, he’s garnered two All-Star nods, two Gold Gloves, and one Silver Slugger award. Originally with the Oakland Athletics, Olson has worn an Atlanta Braves uniform since they acquired him via trade in March 2022.

He was a promising-yet-polarizing prospect when Kiley McDaniel ranked him second behind Franklin Barreto on our 2015 Athletics Top Prospect list. Olson’s raw power was obvious, but there were also question marks. While some scouts were bullish on his future, others had their reservations. Drafted 47th overall in 2012 out of Parkview High School in Lilburn, Georgia, Olson had a degree of boom-or-bust in his profile.

What did Olson’s February 2015 FanGraphs scouting report look like? Moreover, what does he think about it all these years later? Wanting to find out, I shared some of what McDaniel wrote and asked Olson to respond to it.

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“Olson has some pedigree as a former sandwich pick out of an Atlanta-area high school.”

“Once you get into pro ball it doesn’t matter too much,” Olson said. “At the same time, organizationally they kind of care more about the investment that is put into a guy than the player actually playing the game. As far as [having signed out of high school], you’re only playing 50 games in college, as opposed to 140 in the minors. As a hitter, I think it can be beneficial to get out there and get the day in, day out a little bit sooner.”

“He had a huge year in the Cal league last year and he has some big tools, headlined by easy plus power from the left side.”

“Yeah, that’s been a part of my game for awhile,” acknowledged Olson, who has 14 home runs and a 127 wRC+ in the current campaign. “Obviously it helps when you’re playing in the Cal League; the ball jumps out of there for the most part.”

“It boils down to concerns about the bat. He walked a ton last year, but Olson has only average bat speed and the Cal league is super hitter friendly.”

“Like I just said, yeah, super friendly,” he replied. “The bat speed… I don’t know. It’s honestly not a thing that I pay too much attention to. But for guys with bigger, longer limbs, it will look like it’s not moving as quickly. We just played James Wood [and the Washington Nationals]. If you watch him swing, it’s pretty easy, but when he connects he gets it 110 [mph] oppo for a homer. I’ve had enough bat speed to get some balls over the fence.”

“Some scouts think Olson cheats a bit and may be a mistake hitter, feasting on bad pitches late in counts, which come less and less often as you go up the chain.”

“How can I answer that?” the accomplished slugger responded. “Guys have to do their jobs and try to predict things for the future. I’m trying to put myself back in that era to… I’ve never looked at myself as a guy who had to cheat to [get to] pitches. In my mind, I’ve always been able to react and take the ball where it needs to go.”

“Olson was into the low-90s on the mound in high school and has a solid average arm, so the A’s tried him in right field a bit last year.”

“That was more so that first base was kind of logged in a little bit, in the organization,” Olson recalled. “I think they were kind of just finding ways to keep me in the lineup. I never really played much outfield. I’m not the quickest guy, so I’m probably not tracking down the same number of balls as Mike Harris, but I was pretty sure-handed with what I could get to. They came to me with it and I figured it could be another club in my bag that could help me going forward.

“A far as [pitching], most people wanted me as a hitter. I was committed to Vanderbilt, and they had said that two-way was a possibility. I don’t know how much truth there was to that — it could have been a recruiting pitch — but it’s something that I would have wanted to do had I gone to college. I always really enjoyed pitching, kind of being the guy in control on the mound. But there were definitely guys with better arms, more explosive arms, than mine.”

“Some scouts think the body is soft and don’t think he’s a great athlete or defender, while others aren’t concerned and think he’s above average defensively at first base.”

“Defense has always been something that I pride myself on,” the slick-fielding Olson said. “If you put me in a weight room, or have me do a vertical-jump test, I’m not going to be a guy that wows you by any means, but I’ve always had pretty good footwork for a guy my size. The training stuff is something I’ve had to be on top of a little more than other people. You’ve got to know your weaknesses and stay on them. I think I’ve turned myself into somebody who can move pretty well and make up for where the athleticism might lack.

“My body did need work. I didn’t start getting in the weight room and all that, on a strict program, until probably my junior year of high school. Growing up, my dad’s belief was to be an athlete. You put a basketball, a football, or a golf club in my hands, I’m going to look pretty smooth doing it, but as far as actual strength training and speed — that kind of stuff — I was a little bit of a late bloomer.”

“Reports I’ve received on Olson have had the widest gap of anyone in the process other than Colin Moran, so that makes it inherently interesting to watch his development in the coming years.”

“Moran was in the Cal League as well,” Olson recalled. “So yeah, maybe some people put extra weight into the league — how the ball flew there — and didn’t know whether to trust it or not. What they thought wasn’t something I paid too much attention to, though. I know that I had that trust.”

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Previous “Old Scouting Reports Revisited” interviews can be found through these links: Cody Bellinger, Matthew Boyd, Dylan Cease, Matt Chapman, Erick Fedde, Kyle Freeland, Lucas Giolito, Randal Grichuk, Ian Happ, Jeff Hoffman, Tanner Houck, Matthew Liberatore, Sean Newcomb, Bailey Ober, Austin Riley, Joe Ryan, Max Scherzer, Marcus Semien.