Cubs' Owen Caissie: Hitting bench in Tucker's return
Rotowire
Caissie is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Brewers.
The rookie will hit the bench for the series finale after he picked up starts in the corner outfield in the first four contests of the five-game set, going 4-for-11 with one home run, one walk, four RBI and three runs. The last three of Caissie's starts came while the slumping Kyle Tucker received an extended break, but Tucker will make his return to the lineup Thursday. Tucker, Ian Happ, Seiya Suzuki and Pete Crow-Armstrong should continue to handle everyday roles between the outfield and the designated-hitter spot moving forward, but manager Craig Counsell could opt to give any of those players a day or two off per week in order to open up semi-regular playing time for Caissie.
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Cubs' Owen Caissie: Collects first MLB hit
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Caissie went 1-for-3 with a single in a 7-0 loss to the Brewers in the first game of Monday's doubleheader.
The Cubs only had two hits as a team in the lopsided loss, but one of them was memorable, as it was the first hit at the MLB level for Caissie. The 23-year-old is now 1-for-8 since getting promoted to the majors on Thursday. While the youngster has plenty of talent, he's yet to grab an everyday role in a crowded Chicago outfield, which limits Caissie's fantasy upside for the time being.
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Cubs' Owen Caissie: Hitless in MLB debut
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Caissie went 0-for-4 during Thursday's 2-1 loss to Toronto.
One of the Cubs' top prospects, Caissie made his big-league debut Thursday batting fifth and playing DH, but he'll be on the bench Friday. The 23-year-old doesn't have a clear path to an everyday role as Ian Happ, Pete Crow-Armstrong and Kyle Tucker will fill the outfield most nights, and Seiya Suzuki has dominated the DH work.
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Cubs' Owen Caissie: Promotion made official
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The Cubs recalled Caissie from Triple-A Iowa on Thursday, Maddie Lee of the Chicago Sun-Times reports.
The 23-year-old slashed an impressive .291/.391/.567 with 22 home runs over 402 plate appearances this season at Iowa to earn his first look in the majors. How frequently Caissie ultimately plays with the big club will be a question mark. Caissie is limited to the corner outfield and designated hitter, and the Cubs have all of Kyle Tucker, Ian Happ and Seiya Suzuki at full health and available to fill out those three spots on an everyday basis. The rookie is starting in the DH spot and batting fifth in his major-league debut Thursday in Toronto.
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Cubs' Owen Caissie: Bound for Chicago
Rotowire
The Cubs are expected to recall Caissie from Triple-A Iowa on Thursday, Kiley McDaniel of ESPN.com reports.
Widely considered to be one of the top prospects in the Cubs' farm system, Caissie has had his way with Triple-A pitchers all season, slashing .291/.391/.567 with 22 home runs over 402 plate appearances. With Chicago's offense struggling to produce ever since the calendar flipped to August, the team will hope that the addition of Caissie can provide a lift. The 23-year-old has experience at both corner-outfield spots and may also be an option at designated hitter. Caissie may not necessarily be in line for an everyday role in his first taste of the majors, however, as Kyle Tucker, Ian Happ and Seiya Suzuki have typically been occupying left and right field and DH in some combination.
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Cubs' Owen Caissie: Heating up in minors
Rotowire
Caissie is slashing .316/.435/.605 with five home runs in 22 games this month for Triple-A Iowa.
Overall, Caissie has a solid .263/.372/.504 slash line, but he's been even better in June and the power is trending upward. The 22-year-old outfielder has two of those long balls across his last nine games, during which time he's also recorded two doubles and eight walks. Caissie is one of Chicago's top prospects and is looking ready for his MLB debut, though the Cubs are fairly stocked in the outfield with the likes of Ian Happ, Pete Crow-Armstrong, Kyle Tucker and Seiya Suzuki all in the mix and playing well. It may take an injury to one of those players for Caissie to get the call in the near future.
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Cubs' Owen Caissie: Selected to 40-man roster
Rotowire
The Cubs selected Caissie to their 40-man roster Tuesday, Kiley McDaniel of ESPN.com reports.
Caissie spent the entire 2024 campaign with Triple-A Iowa, where he slashed .278/.375/.472 with 19 homers and 75 RBI across 549 plate appearances. The 22-year-old is regarded as one of the most promising prospects in Chicago's farm system, and a strong spring could be all he needs to break camp with the big-league squad.
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Cubs' Owen Caissie: Power, Ks at Triple-A
Rotowire
Caissie has four home runs, 14 strikeouts and five walks in 34 at-bats this month for Triple-A Iowa.
The 21-year-old outfielder is slashing .278/.403/.454 with seven home runs, five steals and a 29 percent strikeout rate in 57 games at Triple-A. Caissie's power and strikeouts have both spiked over the past couple weeks. He hits the ball hard (30.3 percent hard-hit rate), especially for his age, but Caissie's .397 BABIP this year at Triple-A and .407 BABIP last year at Double-A are inflated marks that have propped up his batting averages.
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Cubs' Owen Caissie: Getting a shot in big-league camp
Rotowire
Caissie has been invited to major-league spring training and will get a chance to make an impression before the start of the season, Meghan Montemurro of the Chicago Tribune reports.
While Caissie will almost certainly begin the regular season in the minors, he is definitely on the radar for the Cubs. The 21-year-old outfielder played for Double-A Tennessee last year and managed a strong .917 OPS with 22 home runs and 84 RBI across 120 games. A promotion to Triple-A may be in order for Caissie, and he could find himself in the majors not long after that if he keeps up a similar level of production at the plate.
