FanSided’s list of the 30 greatest one-season wonders in MLB history comes with an awkward twist for the Twins: two of the names on it delivered their best work only after they’d already moved on from Minnesota.
That’s the kind of thing baseball does all the time. A player finds something, puts together one massive year, and then the league catches up. In this case, though, the bigger story is where the breakout happened - and it wasn’t in a Twins uniform.
Chris Colabello is the first example. He didn’t reach the majors until age 29, debuting with Minnesota in 2013 after years in independent ball. His run with the Twins never really took off, as he hit .214/.284/.364 with 13 home runs and 56 RBI in 114 games between the 2013 and 2014 seasons.
Toronto picked him up off waivers in the 2014-15 offseason, then designated him for assignment before the 2015 season. After he cleared waivers, the Blue Jays sent him to Triple-A Buffalo. But once his contract was selected in early May, Colabello turned into one of the club’s most productive bats.
He became a key piece in a lineup that already featured Josh Donaldson, Jose Bautista and Edwin Encarnacion, and he helped push Toronto to an ALCS berth. Colabello hit .321/.367/.520 with an 138 OPS+, 15 home runs and 54 RBI in 101 games. He also delivered in October, going 11-for-39 with two home runs, three doubles, two walks and three RBI in 10 postseason games in 2015.
His big year didn’t lead to a long run of success. Colabello was suspended for PEDs early in the 2016 season, something that may help explain the 2015 surge. He appeared in 10 games for Toronto that year and hasn’t played in a big-league game since.
R.A. Dickey followed a different path, but the Minnesota connection ends the same way.
The right-hander signed a minor-league deal with the Twins for 2009 at age 34 after years as a below-average pitcher. He logged a 4.62 ERA in 64 1/3 innings over 35 outings, including one start, before Minnesota designated him for assignment on Aug.
29, 2009.
Dickey cleared waivers, was sent to Triple-A Rochester, and then elected free agency after the season. He landed with the Mets on another minor-league deal, and that’s where everything changed.
As a knuckleballer in New York, Dickey became a star. He posted a 2.84 ERA with 104 strikeouts in 174 1/3 innings over 27 outings, 26 of them starts, in 2010. He backed that up with a 3.28 ERA and 134 strikeouts in 208 1/3 innings across 27 appearances, again with 26 starts, in 2011.
Then came 2012, the season that put him in a different class. Dickey finished with a 2.73 ERA and an MLB-best 230 strikeouts in 233 2/3 innings over 34 outings, 33 of them starts, and won the National League Cy Young Award.
The Mets later cashed in on that value, sending Dickey to the Blue Jays after the 2015 season for Noah Syndergaard and Travis d'Arnaud. He was solid in Toronto, but nowhere near the level he reached in New York, finishing his Blue Jays tenure with a 4.05 ERA in 824 1/3 innings over four seasons. He closed out his career with a 4.26 ERA in 190 innings across 31 starts with the Atlanta Braves in 2017.
In Other News...
Twins Prospect Rankings Just Changed The Future Debate Around This System
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What stands out most is the climb from within. Ethan Wachsmann and Hendry Mendez both moved up significantly, reflecting the kind of recent performance and upside that can change the conversation around a farm system quickly. The bigger question for the Twins is no longer just who is rising, but which of these young players can keep forcing their way toward the front of the organizations future plans. [Read more 🡒]
Twins Just Got Another Reminder About The Jorge Polanco Trade
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For the Twins, it is another small but familiar reminder of how much roster churn can come out of a deal like the Jorge Polanco trade. Topa was part of Minnesotas bullpen picture before his early-2025 struggles led to his release, and after brief stops with the Blue Jays and Royals organizations, he has now landed on his feet with one of baseballs marquee clubs. Even when a trade seems settled, the aftereffects tend to keep surfacing elsewhere. [Read more 🡒]
Twins Outfield Crunch Is Putting Byron Buxton In A Tough Spot
Walker Jenkins and Emmanuel Rodriguez have been doing everything the Twins could reasonably ask of them in the minors, and now their progress is starting to press on the big-league roster. Both prospects have pushed their way into the conversation with strong recent performances, and the timing matters because Minnesotas outfield picture is getting crowded in a hurry. When young talent is forcing the issue like this, the club has to start thinking not just about who is ready, but how the roster can actually absorb another bat.
Byron Buxtons situation is the piece that makes the puzzle harder to solve. His injury history already leaves the Twins navigating his workload carefully, and the possibility of reduced playing time or a move to the injured list changes the calculus even more. If Minnesota wants to make room for Jenkins or Rodriguez, it may have to reshuffle the outfield sooner than planned, with the front office weighing whether the best move is to keep Buxton available in a limited role or create a cleaner path for one of the prospects. [Read more 🡒]