TORONTO – Before the San Diego Padres made him the top Canadian selected in the 2020 draft, a second-round pick, 45th overall, Owen Caissie’s emotions sat somewhere between anxiety and impatience.
Then, when his goal became reality, the moment hit him harder than he anticipated.
“I got emotional and I didn’t think I was going to,” the 17-year-old from Burlington, Ont., said in an interview. “I was very, very happy. People around me cried. I didn’t cry. I wasn’t really that anxious. I was very excited and I didn’t want it to be over, but I just wanted to hear my name called, you know? I’ll never get that feeling again, it was such a cool feeling to get my name called like that. Not many kids get it, especially with a five-round draft. That’s crazy.”
His selection by the upside-hunting Padres caps a swift rise up the draft board for the left-handed hitting outfielder, who opened eyes while winning the Tournament 12 home run derby last summer, and then went deep this spring during the junior national team’s annual contest with the Toronto Blue Jays.
Word last week was that Caissie was likely to be picked in the third round, maybe even late in the second if things broke right. On Thursday, the Padres “swooped in pretty quick,” he said. “I had interest in later rounds and they swooped right in.”
“It was awesome,” he continued. “I was ecstatic because I got drafted in the second round. I believe that I was a first-round talent but with the coronavirus, didn’t get to show myself a lot. I’m just happy to have the opportunity.”
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Caissie is part of an intriguing draft for the Padres, who took fellow high-schooler Robert Hassell III in the first round and then picked Georgia right-hander Cole Wilcox, a Scott Boras advisee who slid out of the first round because of signability concerns, in the third round.
Should Caissie sign, he’ll join an organization that includes fellow Canadian junior team alums Cal Quantrill and Josh Naylor.
“It is pretty cool because they have a couple of Canadians and I want to be the next one to make it up there,” he said. “The hard work starts now. I have accomplished something, but I look at it as I need to make it to the majors now.”
Speedy centre-fielder David Calabrese was the second Canadian taken in the draft, going to the Los Angeles Angles in the third round, 82nd overall. Another 17-year-old who like Caissie was among the youngest players eligible, the native of Maple, Ont., may have been the fastest player available with a chance to be a strong defender in centre.
Northwestern State right-hander Logan Hoffmann of Muenster, Sask., was selected in the fifth round by the Pittsburgh Pirates. A 35th-round pick of the St. Louis Cardinals last year, he boosted his stock after transferring from Colby Community College and striking out 38 batters in 28 innings without allowing an earned run over four starts.
Two Canadian-born players, Trei Cruz, the shortstop son of former Blue Jays slugger Jose Cruz Jr., and Michigan outfielder Jordan Nwogu, were both third-round picks. Cruz went to the Detroit Tigers while the Chicago Cubs grabbed Nwogu.
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