Brian Olson - 2016

[brianolson25]

Everyone should quickly be able to figure out why I drafted my new favorite player.

 

He was just assigned to Cedar Rapids from E-Town on May 9th and is off to a good start.  Hopefully it will continue and I will have the chance to drive over and watch him play in person.

 

Positions: Catcher, Designated Hitter and Outfielder
Bats: Right, Throws: Right
Height: 6' 0", Weight: 171 lb.

Born: January 21, 1993 in Renton, Washington, United States (Age 23.116)
School: Seattle University (Seattle, WA)

Drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the 34th round of the 2015 MLB June Amateur Draft from Seattle University (Seattle, WA).

 

 

 

Here is a link to his Baseball Reference page  http://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.cgi?id=olson-000bri

 

Here is a link to a Q&A Seth did with him in December 2015.

 

http://twinsdaily.com/topic/20912-article-get-to-know-catcher-brian-olson/?hl=%2Bbrian+%2Bolson

[Guest]

Olson took a foul ball off his right thumb last night and had to leave the game against Beloit. No word yet from the Kernels as to how serious the injury is, but it would be a real setback for the Kernels if they lose him for any period of time. Olson has gotten off to a very strong start in his first few games with CR.

[goulik]

What a season for this young man and what the heck are they doing with his career? Follow this trail, it gets weird...

 

Last year, Brian was signed by the Twins and assigned to the GCL club June 15 and 22 respectively. He hit 273/414/327 for a 742 OPS and a July 18th promotion to Elizabethton. There he hit 333/414/510 over the remainder of the season. So it came as no surprise to see 23 year old Brian Olson placed on the Cedar Rapids squad in May. All normal except he was a little old for the leagues.

 

2016 started very well also and as you can see in SD's post above a hot start and a ball off the thumb led to some worry. No worries though, Olson was healthy and was promoted nine days later to Fort Meyers. A one month stint and he was back in CR on June 22nd. July 18th he was promoted back to FM.

 

But why? His CR stats for the year were 211/274/289! He may have started the first couple of weeks hot but he went stone cold in CR.

 

In a very strange move, he was demoted to the GCL Twins Aug. 5 but I have not found an injury report. He spent 3 weeks there and was given only 23 at bats so he must have been hurt but there was not DL time. He hit 217/357/348 for the GCL Twins.

 

August 28th he was sent back to Fort Meyers where we would expect him to finish the season. His final FM line is 250/342/313 so that was better than GCL or CR but not a great line. One that could get him back to FM to start next year.

 

Except he was promoted to Rochester for the last half week of the season. He was only given 3 at bats without a hit so he must have been a defensive need promotion for the last 3-4 games. But if you needed a body in Rochester, why Brian?

 

So on the year he was promoted 4 times and twice demoted (once probably due to injury?) and despite very limited offensive production, he ended in AAA. What a roller coaster ride for this young man.

 

I have to point out some other stats. 2 errors on the season in 204 innings at first. Pretty solid. Only 134 at bats on the whole season combined. He really only was given half a seasons playing time. A combined 216/301/299 slash with a 599 OPS. We didnt have anyone else to move to Rochester for those last few games? I hope Brian can get some consistent playinng time in a healthy 2017 and maybe these numbers will turn around but I think he belongs back in FM to start 2017.

[Shane Wahl]

Good summary of this bizarre season, goulik. I imagine they will try to have him stabilized as the backup catcher in Fort Myers in 2017. He turns 24 in January.