Caissie was reassigned to minor-league camp by the Cubs on Friday, Meghan Montemurro of the Chicago Tribune reports.
Caissie received an invitation to big-league camp, but this was always the expected outcome, as the 21-year-old has yet to appear above Double-A. He was great at that level last season, recording 22 home runs and a .917 OPS across 120 games. If Caissie continues to make noise in the minors this year, his MLB debut might not be that far away.
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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.
Caissie has a .269/.371/.502 slash line with 15 home runs and a 34.3 percent strikeout rate in 75 games for Double-A Tennessee.
He had 26 strikeouts in his first 12 games of the year, but even since that whiff-happy start, Caissie's strikeout rate is 31.1 percent since April 23, so he still projects to hit for a relatively low average. Known for his 70-grade raw power, the lefty-hitting Caissie is right on track in that department, sporting his best full-season ISO (.233) and a strong 32.5 percent hard-hit rate.
Caissie has slashed .249/.339/.395 with 10 homers and 11 steals through 92 games for High-A South Bend this season.
He's also struck out in 29.5 percent of his plate appearances, which is concerning in light of his lack of game power. Caissie was viewed as having plus raw pop when he was drafted in 2020, but it hasn't been in evidence very often yet as a pro. In fact, his last home run came July 27, and he's hit a miserable .140/.295/.200 with 24 strikeouts in his last 14 games.
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Cubs' Owen Caissie: Heading to High-A
Rotowire
Caissie will open the season at High-A South Bend, Jordan Bastian of MLB.com reports.
Caissie will earn another promotion after finishing last season with just 22 games at the Low-A level. He struck out at a 31.1 percent clip there in limited action, but he's impressed this spring, going 5-for-9 at the plate.
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Cubs' Owen Caissie: Ready for full-season debut
Rotowire
The Cubs promoted Caissie from the rookie-level Arizona Complex League to Low-A Myrtle Beach on Tuesday.
Caissie, who was the 45th overall pick in the 2020 first-year player draft and one of the prospects the Cubs acquired from the Padres this winter in the Yu Darvish trade, will get his first taste of full-season ball over the final month of the 2021 campaign. The 19-year-old received the promotion after slashing a blistering .345/.474/.591 in 137 plate appearances against overmatched competition in the ACL.
