Josh Gambardella's bat never really seemed to get going in 2015, finishing the year with a .115 batting average and leading the team in strikeouts (20). The silver lining for Gambardella offensively was that he was second on the team in walks (14), earning himself a respectable .299 OBP, considering how low his batting average was. He still managed to finish fourth on the team in runs scored (13), which was the reason why he continued to see his name in the #2 spot in the lineup. The last positive outlook on his offensive contributions was his 5 stolen bases.
Defensively, Gambardella roamed the entire outfield at one point or another throughout the season. He started out in center field, than moved over to left field once John Schmidt started coming into his own as the leader of that outfield. He also saw some time in right field, in which he seemed most comfortable playing. On most teams, Gambardella would be the #1 outfielder. The problem is that the Blue Jays are not most teams. John Schmidt went the entire season without committing an error, and added 11 assists to his incredible resume. But Gambardella was not far behind him... Gambardella committed just one error all season, and that happened to be in the semi final game against the LI Riptides. Luckily for Josh, the error did not wind up being disastrous. Gambardella's outstanding defensive play night in and night out makes it very hard for Coach Wanderlingh to take his name out of the lineup, considering Wanderlingh's style of coaching having a DH for the starting pitcher.
Nonetheless, Gambardella will need to prove himself in preseason and early on in 2016 if he wants to keep his name in the starting lineup offensively. His glove will always be out in the outfield for the Jays, without question, but if he wants to hit on a regular basis, 6-52 is not going to cut it.
Look for Gambardella to compete for the #2 spot in the starting lineup, along with newcomer Steven Krauth. Gambardella is by far the best bunter on the team, but is that enough to put him that high up in a very powerful lineup? A little bit more consistency at making contact is all Gambardella needs to reserve his spot near the top of the lineup for the Jays.
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