It's Time to Appreciate That the Braves Have Matt Olson

Matt Olson had another clutch night for the Atlanta Braves in Tuesday night's win over the Mets. He went 2-for-5 for the second night in a row and drove in runs on both his base hits. His single in the top of the sixth drove in two runs to give the Braves a 5-3 lead, and he followed it up with an RBI double in the top of the eighth to make it 6-3.

He was the difference maker in the game. If he misses his chances in those spots, the Braves lose 4-3. Both his hits came with two outs. If he doesn't cash in, his three RBIs are erased along with Austin Riley's RBI double that scored Olson. He's the game's MVP.

Olson showed again that he is the reliable bat the team has been needing. In June, he's batting .307 with a .983 OPS with three home runs, 21 RBIs and 14 runs. Of the 94 runs scored by the Braves this month, he's played a part in 35 of them (37%).

For someone who is one of nine, he's played a part in more than one of every three runs scored this month. Meanwhile, the Braves are 10-11 in that time because the rest of the offense can't get it done.

Among all first basemen this season, he's third in home runs (15), tied for second in RBIs (52) and sixth in OPS. In the first two stats, he's doing more than a certain previous first baseman. I don't want to sit here and compare Olson to Freeman. However, these two are permanently intertwined in Braves lore, so it forces my hand.

Freeman has missed games that Olson hasn't been fair enough. Let's check some averages to make these more comparable. Freeman has averaged 0.1 home runs per game and 0.6 RBIs per game. Olson is averaging 0.2 home runs and 0.6 RBIs.

The Braves are getting some comparable production. Not too shabby. As a bonus, they managed to get another high-caliber glove at first base. Olson has a defensive runs saved of 10, which leads all first basemen. He was a finalist for a Gold Glove last season, and he's in the driver's seat to win one this season.

Look, this isn't meant to take away from what Freeman meant to Atlanta and the Braves. That can never be taken away. He is a future Hall of Famer, and Olson currently isn't. He was part of a World Series winner, and Olson came the year after. Freeman was also a World Series MVP less than 12 months ago. Olson can also struggle with inconsistency. All of these make it hard to look at Olson and be happy with him.

Think of it this way, if there had been no Freddie before him, there's zero chance you're upset with having him. Even with Freddie coming before him, there's also this. It's not often that a team loses a team first baseman and can replace him with another top first baseman in the league.

Even last season, when Olson faced a lot of flak for his production, he was one of five first basemen to hit 29 or more home runs and one of four to drive in 90 or more RBIs - he had 98.

Right now, it'll be easy to be happy with Olson in the lineup. We all know, though, that the second he's remotely in a dry spell and Freeman is looking good, the comparisons will start up again. That needs to stop.

This team's offense has a lot of problems. Olson isn't one of them.

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