Late Miami Marlins ace Jose Fernandez voted the Players Choice National League Comeback Player for 2016. Fernandez was selected over Los Angeles Dodgers free-agent starting pitcher Rich Hill and Arizona Diamondbacks second baseman Jean Segura.
Voting for the award took place Sept. 20, five days prior to Fernandez’s tragic death in a boating accident. The loss not only affected the Marlins organization, but all of MLB. Yasiel Puig was among the several players who were close to Fernandez.
In his first full season since undergoing Tommy John surgery in May 2014, Fernandez was 16-8 with a 2.86 ERA, 1.12 WHIP and 253 strikeouts in 182.1 innings pitched over 29 starts.
After pitching sparingly during the 2014 season, Hill joined the Boston Red Sox in September 2015 and rode four strong starts to a one-year contract with the Oakland Athletics. The veteran left-hander went 9-3 with a 2.25 ERA in 14 starts for the Athletics, establishing himself as one of the top pitchers in baseball.
Hill was traded to the Dodgers hours before the non-waiver deadline on Aug. 1, and enjoyed continued success despite lingering concern over his blisters.
Hill threw 19 scoreless innings in his first three starts for Los Angeles before allowing a run in the second inning of his fourth outing. Hill went 3-2 with a 1.83 ERA and 0.79 WHIP in six starts with the Dodgers.
Los Angeles reportedly had interest in re-signing the 36-year-old to a multiyear contract prior to free agency beginning. The New York Yankees are among the clubs with interest in signing Hill out of a weak class of free-agent starting pitchers.
In his first season with the Arizona Diamondbacks, Segura played a steady, if not stellar, second base. All the while he contributed at the plate as well, batting .319/.368/.499 with 41 doubles, 20 home runs and 64 RBI in 153 games.
Segura’s .867 on-base plus slugging percentage shattered his previous career high of .752, set in 2013 when Segura represented the Milwaukee Brewers in his first and only All-Star Game appearance.
