Toronto Blue Jays – Josh Donaldson (2015)
It turns out we don’t have to look back too far to start off this list. The Blue Jays, the second-youngest team in the division after being founded in 1977 and a club with two World Series titles, saw the greatest individual season in their franchise’s history just last year.
Josh Donaldson was arguably the best acquisition during the 2015 offseason in all of baseball, finding his way to Toronto in a trade from the Oakland Athletics for Franklin Barreto, Kendall Graveman, Brett Lawrie and Sean Nolin. All he did was win the AL Most Valuable Player award and lead the Blue Jays to their first division title and trip to the postseason in 22 years, the longest active drought in the big leagues.
Teaming with proven sluggers Jose Bautista, who previously held the title of best individual season for a Jays position player, and Edwin Encarnacion, Donaldson made the Toronto lineup one of the most feared in baseball. At the age of 29, he slashed .297/.371/.568 with 41 doubles, 41 home runs, and a league-leading 123 runs batted in. Donaldson was also tops in the league with 122 runs scored, posted an OPS of .939, and put up a 153 OPS+ en route to an 8.8 bWAR total.
At this point in the 2016 season, Donaldson is on pace for nearly identical numbers and poised to make his third consecutive All-Star appearance. With a shot at another postseason berth and a second MVP, he could be rewriting the Blue Jays’ history books to put himself atop the list of greatest players in franchise history.
Next: Iron Man.