Matt Olson has spent his entire baseball career trying to shed a label that seemed to follow him everywhere: slugger. Standing at 6-foot-4 and 225 pounds, the Braves star has always been seen as a towering power hitter, but he's never been content with that identity alone.

"I always remember seeing a video of Ken Griffey Jr., and he said, 'I'm not a power hitter. I'm a hitter with power,'" Olson shared during a recent phone interview. "Obviously, I think you want to become a better [complete] hitter."

That mindset is paying off in a big way this season. A quarter of the way through the 2026 campaign, the 32-year-old first baseman is slashing an impressive .293/.379/.653 with a 186 OPS+ and 13 home runs in just 39 games. Those 13 homers tie him with Kyle Schwarber for the National League lead, and Olson recently hit the 300th home run of his career against the Mariners.

But for Olson, the milestone was secondary to what the numbers represent: a refined, more complete approach at the plate. His contact rate has climbed to 79%, the highest mark of his career, while his swinging-strike rate has dropped to 9%—also a career best. The holes that once existed in his swing, a byproduct of his tall frame and long levers, have largely disappeared.

"It's one of those little milestone numbers," Olson said of reaching 300 homers. "It's funny, I was talking to somebody, and it's like this big old cool thing. And then nobody's going to care about 301."

What Olson truly cares about is the swing itself—getting from point A to point B efficiently and consistently. Braves hitting coach Tim Hyers describes it as a chess match. "He understands how teams pitch him. Or even the flow of the game. He's playing chess, and some other guys are playing checkers," Hyers said. "But it's not that you're just looking for things in game planning, but also you have to have the confidence and go out there and do it and the courage to do it."

Now in his 11th MLB season and fifth with the Braves, Olson is proving that he's more than just a power hitter. He's a hitter with power—and the numbers are finally telling that story.