Blue Jays 2015 Year End Awards: Comeback Player

Runner-Up: Chris Colabello

More from Toronto Blue Jays News

• Matt Chapman has been exactly what the Blue Jays needed
• Blue Jays: The goalposts are moving in the right direction
• Single-A Dunedin Blue Jays advance to the Championship Series
• Blue Jays: Comparisons for Alek Manoah’s Second Season
• Blue Jays: Adam Cimber, the unlikely decision King

It is amazing that it took until the ninth J.J. YEA for Colabello to make his first official appearance. The emergence of the former independent league star was a big factor in the sheer potency of the Blue Jays lineup this season. Craig Borden wrote an excellent season review of the man who waited seven years before the Minnesota Twins gave him a chance. After two years with the organization, Toronto claimed him in December and DFA’d the Massachusetts native, expecting him to serve as a cleanup bat in Buffalo.

Colabello did such a good job that he was brought back onto the 40-man roster to replace the ineffective Steve Tolleson. Back in the majors, Colabello continued to smack the ball at a torrid pace. His batting average didn’t drop below .315 the entire season, and his BABIP was an insane .411. That is not a number that is likely to be repeated. If Colabello can have another season of solid contact hitting, hovering around .290, it will be a solid blanket to have behind Jose Bautista and Edwin Encarnacion given their recent drops in average. Either way, Colabello won’t have to worry about making another comeback this spring training.

Next: 2015 Comeback Player: When A Door Doesn't Close, A Window Opens