7. Jose Bautista – 2010
Making his MLB debut in 2004, Jose Bautista didn’t really break out until he was picked up by the Blue Jays. That season alone he got big league time with four different teams. The last stop of that season was in Pittsburgh where Bautista found a home for the next 3.5 seasons. During his time as a Pirate, he was nothing more than an average hitter. He never hit higher than .254 in a season and never hit more than 16 home runs in a season.
In the 2008 campaign, the Blue Jays acquired Bautista in exchange for Robinzon Diaz. It’s one of, if not the best trade this franchise has ever made.
Bautista struggled offensively when he first came to Toronto and he struggled in 2009 as well. Once Bautista transitioned to the outfield full-time in 2010, things blossomed for him. He went from never having a season with a league-average OPS+ to posting a 164 OPS+ which was third in the American League and sixth in franchise history.
Bautista smacked an American League-leading and franchise record-setting 54 home runs and drove in 124 runs. Bautista also showed incredible discipline, finishing second in the American League with 100 walks drawn. He only hit .260 but had a very solid .378 OBP.
Bautista also led the American League with 351 total bases. He was an All-Star, won a Silver Slugger, and finished fourth in the American League MVP balloting. It was one of the more unprecedented breakouts in MLB history for a career journeyman to all of a sudden become an all-star as he was approaching his 30th birthday.