Earning a call to the big leagues is the ultimate goal for every prospect from the moment they enter professional baseball. But for Burlington, Ont.’s Owen Caissie, Thursday’s promotion will be a little bit more special as the 23-year-old is set to join the Chicago Cubs for a potential debut in his home country against the Toronto Blue Jays.
Armed with a sweet left-handed swing and one of the best power profiles in the minor leagues, Caissie has long been one of the top Canadian prospects in baseball.
Originally drafted by the San Diego Padres in the second round of the 2020 MLB Draft, Caissie has seemingly been on the cusp of the majors for most of 2025 amid what has been an impressive summer at triple-A Iowa.
Caissie joins the Cubs with a .955 OPS and 22 homers over 93 games as one of the youngest players in the International League this season — both of which are top-five marks in the circuit. But with Chicago’s climb to the top of the NL Central standings and a logjam in its outfield, there hasn’t been a clear path to MLB playing time for Caissie with the North Siders.
Now with a spot on the roster following Miguel Amaya's injury, MLB Pipeline's No. 45 prospect will return north to begin his major-league journey with a date against future Hall of Famer Max Scherzer.
Here’s everything you need to know about Caissie before he officially steps foot onto the Rogers Centre turf as a member of the Cubs.
Age: 23
Position: Corner outfield
Swings: Left | Throws: Right
Height: Six-foot-three | Weight: 190 lbs.
2025 Stats (triple-A): AVG: .289 | 50 XBH | 52 RBI | 3 SB | .389 OBP | .566 SLG
Power threat
Caissie’s power has been his calling card since before San Diego called his name in 2020.
The winner of the Canadian Futures Showcase Home Run Derby in 2019, Caissie has gotten the most out of his swing as a pro, having launched 63 long balls over the past three years.
Caissie taps into his extra-base power by posting top-end exit velocities. So far this season, he’s running a 51.5 per cent hard-hit rate and 91.9 m.p.h. average exit velocity, both marks that would comfortably rank among the top-40 hitters in MLB.
Not only does Canada’s newest big-leaguer hit the ball hard, but he also deploys a solid approach. Caissie has never walked in less than 11 per cent of his plate appearances in the minors, and has reached via the free pass 13.1 per cent of the time in 2025, helping him routinely post on-base percentages that approach .400.
Clutch performer
Alongside his MiLB production, Caissie has shown a knack for stepping up in big moments. As a member of the 2022 high-A Midwest League champion South Bend Cubs, a then-20-year-old Caissie helped his club to a decisive Game 3 win in the finals with a three-run homer to open the scoring. He ultimately posted an .818 OPS during South Bend’s playoff run to the title.
The following year, he served as the three-hole hitter for the Tennessee Smokies as Chicago’s double-A affiliate won the Southern League.
Caissie also got his feet wet with Canada’s Senior National Team at the 2023 World Baseball Classic. The Fieldhouse Pirates product got into three games with Canada at the tournament, collecting three hits, including a home run against Great Britain.
He also most recently plied his trade on the national stage at the 2025 All-Star Futures Game, going 1-for-2 with an RBI double and two walks in a 4-2 National League triumph.
Summer surge
One concern about Caissie’s game and how it may translate to the majors is his elevated strikeout rate and propensity to swing and miss.
Caissie has struck out just less than 30 per cent of the time over the course of his career in the Cubs’ farm system. And while that hasn’t stopped him from producing at a high level, his struggles against breaking balls in triple-A could be an area for MLB pitchers to target.
However, Caissie has taken some impressive strides at the plate over the past few months, firmly inserting himself into Chicago’s plans for 2025.
Since June 1, he has posted a 1.095 OPS with 15 homers and a much-improved 23.8 per cent strikeout rate. That stretch was highlighted by five games from July 3 to 8, in which Caissie left the yard six times and went 12-for-22, mixing in a trio of walks and a pair of doubles.
His slow first couple of months were perhaps influenced by a delayed start to his year. Caissie missed spring training with the Cubs after undergoing off-season core surgery and dealing with groin tightness when he initially returned to the field.
Path to the Cubs
Just the latest alumnus of the Canadian Junior National Team to graduate to the major leagues, Caissie has found himself in the middle of multiple trade talks early in his career.
While San Diego made Caissie the highest-drafted Canadian in 2020, he wasn’t a Padre for long.
Still just a teenager, Caissie was one of the headlining pieces in the trade that sent five-time all-star Yu Darvish to the Padres from Chicago. The Canuck outfielder remains the most promising member of the Cubs’ return, as the other players shipped out by the Padres — Ismael Mena, Reginald Preciado, Yeison Santana and Zach Davies — have either left Chicago or have yet to reach double-A.
Caissie was also seen as possible trade bait again at this year’s trade deadline. With the Cubs looking to return to the post-season for the first time since 2020 and the aforementioned group of established MLB outfielders in Chicago, Caissie was reportedly available for controllable top-of-the-rotation help.
But after nothing materialized for the Cubs in the way of landing a starter that fit their needs, they will add Caissie to the mix in hopes of adding a middle-of-the-order threat to their playoff push.
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