Friday, February 28

NORTH PORT, Fla. -- Spring Training results don’t matter unless they end up fitting the narrative.

So maybe we shouldn’t make too much of the two-run homer Matt Olson hit in the first inning of Wednesday’s game against the Pirates. The center field blast was hit against Pittsburgh Minor Leaguer Mike Burrows, who allowed 1.7 homers per nine innings at the Triple-A level last year.

And if we’re getting excited about this Feb. 26 homer, why aren’t we going crazy about Sandy León homering in two of his first three at-bats of the Grapefruit League season?

Maybe because the 35-year-old León has 31 career homers and Olson is just one season removed from a 54-homer campaign. Or maybe more specifically, it’s because we remember how these past two Spring Trainings have evolved for the Braves' first baseman.

Olson homered eight times in 47 at-bats, once every 5.9 at-bats, during Spring Training in 2023. He led the Majors in home runs (54) and RBIs (139), while also constructing a .993 OPS that same year.

Olson homered just once in 44 at-bats during last year’s Grapefruit League season. He then hit 29 homers, his lowest total in a 162-game season since 2018, with a .790 OPS.

Bad Spring Trainings don’t guarantee bad seasons, the same way good Spring Trainings don’t guarantee anything either. But it should be pointed out that Olson also homered six times in 49 at-bats, once every 8.2 at-bats, ahead of the 2021 regular season. He hit 39 homers with 111 RBIs that year, his final with the A's before being traded to Atlanta.

If Olson doesn’t homer again before the regular season, the narrative will be he was saving his power for the regular season. But for now, we’ll just say this February homer was a sign of good things to come over the next seven to eight months.

“[Last season] wasn’t the year you set out to have,” Olson said. “I was proud of the way I was able to battle back in the second half and I was able to help the team.”

Olson batted .223 with 15 homers and a .697 OPS through the season’s first 106 games. He batted .293 with 14 homers and a .966 OPS over the 56 games that followed. With Ronald Acuña Jr. and Austin Riley sidelined with season-ending injuries and Marcell Ozuna fading in September, Olson kept the Braves afloat and pushed them into the postseason with his late charge. 

"I think I was trying to do a little too much early on,” Olson said. “I found a way to do what I do, which is drive in runs and provide power in the middle of the lineup. It’s the fun of it. You always get to go back to the drawing board and see how you can improve."

Olson homered once every 14.6 at-bats during that strong 56-game stretch to end last season. He homered once every 11.3 at-bats during his record-setting 2023 season.

Will he start this season like he finished the last? We might get a better idea over the next few weeks.

But if he doesn’t have a good Grapefruit League season, remember that Spring Training results don’t matter.

Hurston Waldrep wasn’t anywhere near ready for the Majors when the Braves brought him up to make two starts last summer. Atlanta's 2023 first-round Draft selection allowed 13 earned runs and recorded just 21 outs as he made these two outings one year after helping the University of Florida reach the College World Series.

Braves manager Brian Snitker said he and the coaches have been  impressed by what they saw from Waldrep during Spring Training this year -- but the 22-year-old hurler was among the team’s first cuts, being optioned to Triple-A Gwinnett on Tuesday.

"He was a lot better this year,” Snitker said. “He was more calm. He just needs innings."

Who has hit the most home runs for the Braves since the start of the 2020 season?

A) Marcell Ozuna

B) Ronald Acuña Jr.

C) Austin Riley

D) Matt Olson

Jurickson Profar doubled to the right-field corner against the first pitch he saw in a Braves uniform. His leadoff double in Wednesday’s win against the Pirates provided a glimpse of why the Braves are confident he will more than adequately fill the leadoff spot while Acuña misses the early part of the season recovering from knee surgery. 

Snitker provided a glimpse of how his Opening Day lineup might look when most of the regulars played against the Pirates on Wednesday, following Profar with Riley, Olson and Ozuna. This setup allows him to avoid having two consecutive left-handed hitters or two straight right-handed hitters positioned next to each other in the order.

But it will be interesting to see if Ozuna might fill the third spot against some left-handed starters this year. 

You never know what you might learn when you begin to write a story. When Reynaldo López spoke to reporters a couple weeks ago, he said he would like to complete 200 innings this year. So when he made his Grapefruit League debut on Tuesday, I started to do some research. 

I’m thinking I might have needed at least 10 guesses to remember that Shelby Miller and Julio Teheran stand as the most recent Braves pitchers to complete 200 innings in a season. They both did so in 2015. It’s a new age and time. Thank God. I don’t think any of us want to relive what we witnessed 10 years ago, when Adonis García and Cameron Maybin tied for second on the team with 10 home runs apiece.

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C) Austin Riley

Riley has 135 homers over 639 games during this span. Ozuna ranks second with 127 in 538 games. Olson has 117 in 486 games and Acuña has tallied 98 homers in 455 games over the past five seasons.

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