Chicago Cubs prospect Owen Caissie is having a fun August

The Chicago Cubs continue their freefall into mediocrity and look bound for at the very least a top ten draft pick in next summer’s Major League Baseball amateur event. What the Cubs do with that is anyone’s best guess, as picks in this sport are impossibly hard to predict due to the anti-fragility that comes with the game’s structure.

Cubs prospects continue to impress, however. Maybe this will be the wake-up call fans needed, despite the annoyance and empty opinions of, “We traded Anthony Rizzo for who?” Cue the sadness and nostalgia. Embrace this reality the club finds itself a part of now that Tom Ricketts and Jed Hoyer showed their true colors and tore this thing down to the studs.

Cynical? Possibly, but also just the new reality for Chicago. As such, fans shouldn’t wave the white towel because reinforcements are slowly but surely on the way. Now, there’s a huge misconception in baseball: star players are always traded for blue chip prospects. Sadly (especially for Cubs fans right now), that’s no longer the case.

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It may have been that way long ago, but now teams are starting to adjust. It still does not preclude us from covering another prospect in a more contextual sense, however. Today’s name is one of the faces returned by San Diego to the Cubs in the deal for Yu Darvish, and that is teenage outfield prospect Owen Caissie.

Chicago Cubs: Well at least there is some movement, right?

I get it. I understand how frustrating it can be to see a great player traded, especially when it finally looked like he turned the corner. After a tough start to his Chicago Cubs career, Darvish put it all together down the stretch in 2019 and again in 2020, finishing runner-up in the NL Cy Young race.

Just how was he rewarded? By being told to pack his bags and hit the road for San Diego last winter. This deal, in particular, has frustrated fans because of the lack of big league-ready talent that came back to Chicago. But patience and an eye on the long-term success of the team could pay off huge if Caissie is any indication.

He began the year at the Arizona League and tore the cover off of the ball. He slashed .349/.478/.596 with six home runs and 20 RBI. Caissie struck out at a 28.7 percent clip which in the scheme of the Arizona League is concerning. He has struck out in four of the six games at Low-A, but things are starting to open up, it seems for the 19-year-old.

To that point, the Cubs need to remember that Caissie is still a teenager. The Cubs have one of the youngest systems in baseball, and that is where they can succeed. Unfortunately, Caissie finds himself in a crowded system right now. However, it has not precluded him from putting together a strong month of August between the Complex League and Low-A.

In 20 games this month, Caissie holds a .297/.402/.486 slash and a 135 wRC+, and a slightly above-average .189 ISO. He continues to have more positive plate appearances and falls in line with a handful of rising prospects in the system. Let’s hope the direction continues to trend upwards.