Full Season At Triple-A Has Cubs’ Owen Caissie Eying MLB Debut
Outfielder Owen Caissie has positioned himself to earn his first big league callup in 2025.
The Cubs will add the 22-year-old Canadian slugger to their 40-man roster in November to shield him from the Rule 5 draft. The lefthanded hitter certainly earned his place.
In 127 games for Triple-A Iowa, Caissie hit .278/.375/.473 with 19 home runs, 29 doubles and 75 RBIs. He improved his strikeout rate from 31% at Double-A in 2023 to 28% in 2024.
The Cubs acquired Caissie from the Padres in December 2020 as part of the Yu Darvish trade before the outfielder had appeared in a single pro game. San Diego drafted him out of his Ontario high school in the second round in 2020.
“He’s moved up very steadily, rung after rung, at a very young age,” Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer said. “He’s been young for the level at every age, and (he’s) really proved himself at every level.”
Caissie spent the entire 2024 season at Triple-A, his first taste of the level. Hoyer believes it was valuable for him to play there the whole year because it allowed him to see pitchers multiple times. And as an added challenge, most of them were older than Caissie.
He faced a younger pitcher than him in just five plate appearances.
“I think it makes a big difference,” Hoyer said. “When you’re looking at skipping through there, it’s a little different. That also means the pitchers got to know him, and there’s a back and forth, which I think is good.”
The Cubs will be looking for ways to expose their young talent to MLB competition in 2025 after most of their top prospects reached Triple-A in 2024. If the Cubs encounter an early-season injury with an outfielder, Caissie will certainly be in play to be called up.
