While he has been a bit uneven to start, there is no denying that Matt Olson is off to a great start to the 2026 season for the Atlanta Braves. Through 68 games, not only has Olson continued his objectively insane streak of consecutive games played, but he has posted a .272/.344/.558 line with 19 home runs and a league-leading 148 bases. However, what may be even wilder is that he is on pace to challenge one of his own insane records in the annals of Braves history.
In 2023, Olson was overshadowed by Ronald Acuña Jr.'s season for the ages, but he was awesome. Not only did he post a 7.5 rWAR season and set the Braves’ franchise single-season home run record with 54 bombs, but he led the National League with 139 RBI and all of baseball with a .604 slugging percentage. Given the history of sluggers that have played for the Braves, it is very impressive that Olson holds the record at all.
What is even crazier is that while it may not look like it at first, Olson is actually on pace to beat his 2023 record this season in at least one way.
Matt Olson could break his own Braves single-season home run record if certain trends hold
Now, on a rate basis, it doesn't necessarily seem like Olson could match his MVP-level campaign from a few years ago. His slugging percentage is almost fifty points lower than it was in 2023, and his 19 homers barely place in the top five in MLB at the moment. That doesn't exactly scream that Olson is going to make a run at exceeding 54 homers.
However, through 68 games during the 2023 season, Olson only had 18 homers, which is one less than his current mark through the same number of games. It is worth mentioning that over Olson's next 13 games after that, he hit another 10 homers and was one of the hottest stretches of his entire season, so staying on pace could (will) be tough.
Keeping pace for the rest of the month of June may be tricky, but if Olson can keep it relatively close, setting a new record is pretty doable. Olson hit "only" 15 homers combined between July and August in 2023, and Olson typically closes seasons very strong when he is on. However, if Olson does keep pace and threaten his 2023 record, we are probably going to be having MVP discussions again and not really be too hung up on the franchise home run mark.
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