OAKLAND — Athletics manager Bob Melvin believes it’s too early to be overly concerned with the power numbers of first baseman Matt Olson.
Olson took the American League by storm upon his promotion from Class AAA last season, hitting 24 home runs in 65 games. Through 31 games entering Friday night’s homestand opener against the Baltimore Orioles, Olson has homered three times and has none in his last 12 games.
Expecting Olson to stay at his home run rate of one per every 11.1 plate appearances wasn’t realistic, but no doubt both he and the Athletics didn’t expect that rate to drop to every 40.