After reaching the big leagues in 2025, Canadian standouts Jonah Tong and Owen Caissie have been recognized for their strong campaigns in the minor leagues.
The Canadian Baseball Network announced its minor-league award winners on Tuesday, both in the affiliated and unaffiliated ranks.
Caissie earned the Randy Echlin Award for a second straight year as the top affiliated Canadian minor-league hitter.
The 23-year-old outfielder starred in triple-A Iowa this season, slashing .286/.386/.551 in 99 games. Caissie also earned his way to the Chicago Cubs by blasting 22 homers and 28 doubles.
Originally a second-round pick of the San Diego Padres in 2020, Caissie earned his MLB call-up in mid-August, when he joined the Cubs in Toronto. He went on to appear in 12 games, picking up five hits and hitting his first career home run on Aug. 19.
Caissie is the fourth hitter to win the Randy Echlin Award more than once. He joins Tyler O'Neill, Brett Lawrie and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. as multiple-time victors.
Tong, meanwhile, was named the Wayne Norton Award as the top affiliated Canadian minor-league pitcher after rising two levels to arrive in MLB with the New York Mets.
The funky right-hander struck out 179 batters in 113.2 innings split between double-A Binghamton and triple-A Syracuse. Along with his monster punchout numbers, Tong carried a 1.43 ERA in the minors and was named the MiLB pitcher of the year.
New York recalled the 22-year-old in late August in need of rotation help. And while Tong battled inconsistency against major-league hitters, he still struck out 22 in 18.2 innings and made five starts for the Mets down the stretch.
On the unaffiliated minor-league side, Mathieu Vallée earned the Murray Zuk Award as the top offensive player.
Suiting up for the Trois-Rivières Aigles in the Frontier League, Vallée set a league record with 83 stolen bases in 88 games.
A left-handed hitting outfielder, Vallée also slashed .352/.428/.413 while legging out 19 doubles.
Right-handed starter Noah Skirrow was named the Claude Pelletier Award winner as the top Canadian pitcher in the unaffiliated ranks.
The former Philadelphia Phillies farmhand posted a 15-3 record and 3.99 ERA in 137.1 innings for the Atlantic League's Lancaster Stormers. His performance earned him the league's pitcher of the year honours.
This marks the 17th year that the Canadian Baseball Network has handed out the awards. 11 baseball experts are polled to decide the winners.
