Sports

Parkview's Matt Olson Picked by the A's

The Panthers' star pitcher/first baseman was selected by Oakland on the first day of the Major League Baseball Draft.

Matt Olson, who led to the Class AAAAA baseball championship a week and a half ago, was selected on the first day of the Major League Baseball Draft Monday.

The 6-foot-4, 236-pound pitcher/first baseman, who has committed to play at Vanderbilt, was the 47th pick overall by the Oakland Athletics.

Olson, a left-handed batter, was a key ingredient in the Panthers' runs to the last two state championships. He was the in Parkview’s sweep of Brookwood in the state finals on May 26.

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"For us, one of the best high school bats in the country -- just a very skilled hitter with strength, and the power's going to come as he gets bigger and stronger," Oakland A's scouting director Eric Kubota said of Olson in a story posted on mlb.com. "We really feel good about his bat. We saw him hit home runs off two first-round pitchers this year."

One of those was against Brookwood star Lucas Sims in the state finals. Sims was selected 21st overall by the Atlanta Braves on Monday.

Find out what's happening in Lilburn-Mountain Parkwith free, real-time updates from Patch.


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