MESA, Ariz. – Two years ago, Matt Olson was quite the talk of the A’s camp.
He was just 20 years old at the time, but the 6-foot-5 first baseman had hit 37 homers for Class-A Stockton, then added four more in the Arizona Fall League.
Olson then was three years removed from having been the A’s first-round draft pick and he seemed not that far away, even if he’d never played above Class-A.
Move the clock to this year, and Olson doesn’t seem to be a big story. Maybe he should be. A’s manager Bob Melvin, for one, said that as the hitters get going this week, Olson is someone who has to be watched.