According to 670 The Score’s Matt Spiegel, Chicago Cubs No. 3 prospect Owen Caissie will likely be called up by the team in September. In it’s latest update, MLB Pipeline ranked the left-handed hitting outfielder No. 36 in its top-100 prospects list.
Caissie, who was one of four prospects acquired from the San Diego Padres for Yu Darvish following the 2020 season, has steadily climbed up the Cubs farm system and is now on the verge of his first MLB call up.
The 22-year-old has been with the Iowa Cubs at Triple-A this season. Through 95 games, Caissie has posted a slash line of .270/.363/.445, with 12 home runs, 54 RBI, 44 runs scored and six stolen bases.
There’s no doubt Caissie has big-time power potential as he’s consistently recorded elite exit velocity numbers and he’s going to have to hit in the big leagues to remain the lineup. While Caissie does have a great throwing arm in right field the scouting report makes him out to be average at best out there with average at best speed.
The biggest question is whether Caissie will be able to get to his power enough against MLB pitching while keeping his strikeouts in check. During the 2023 season at Double-A, Caissie had a 31% strikeout rate in 528 plate appearances. So far in 2024, Caissie has cut the strikeouts a bit at 28%.
Interestingly enough, before Spiegel reported that the Cubs will likely call up Caissie in September, ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel reported that the Cubs prospect has hired new representation.
As McDaniel noted, if the Cubs do indeed call up Caissie in September, then there will be at least one other corresponding move to make room for the outfielder on the 40-man roster.
Who knows how much time Caissie will actually get once he’s up with the Cubs because the roster is already loaded in the outfield. However, if the team falls further out of the playoff picture, then Caissie could get more action. Maybe this will be a showcase of Caissie, who could be dangled in trade talks during the offseason, he was already reportedly in discussions with the Los Angeles Angels this past trade deadline.
Or maybe the Cubs are rewarding Caissie for his success in the minor leagues and maybe getting him ready for a bigger role in 2025, similar to Pete Crow-Armstrong’s call up last September.
