Mike Olt is expected to be the Cubs' starting third baseman on Opening Day for a second straight year with the demotion of Kris Bryant to the minors. Even with the potential for Chicago to bring Bryant to the majors quickly, Olt is feeling confident heading into the 2015 season.
"It feels a lot different," Olt said of this season versus last year, per MLB.com. "I was able to go up there last year and learned a lot of things. I feel I'm back to the player who can really compete instead of the player who you hope is ready and you hope the swing is there. It's a lot different feeling, a lot less stressful."
Olt is having a decent spring at the plate, batting .279 with a .392 on-base percentage, .558 slugging percentage and .950 OPS in 19 games. It's a nice turnaround after batting .160 in 89 games in the majors last season.
"I had two crazy years and a lot of things happened to me," said Olt of some injury issues. "Now I feel it's in the past, and I have a new outlook on baseball and a new outlook on my career. I used to be one of those [top prospects like Bryant] -- and you forget about that. I feel myself becoming that guy again, and it makes baseball fun again."