Cubs starting lineup drops and Owen Caissie steals the spotlight

Owen Caissie is set to make his Major League debut on Thursday. The Chicago Cubs' top prospect was promoted from Triple-A Iowa on Thursday, as the Cubs officially placed catcher Miguel Amaya on the 10-day IL. Playing in his home country, Caissie is in the Cubs' starting lineup for their final game of a three-game set against the Toronto Blue Jays.

Caissie will be wearing No. 19 in his Cubs' debut and hitting fifth in the starting lineup while serving as the designated hitter.

Owen Caissie debut officially set as Cubs' starting lineup vs. Blue Jays is set.

Regardless of whether Caissie made his debut on Thursday or the Cubs waited until they returned to Wrigley Field on Friday, there was going to be a heavy amount of fanfare. Caissie would have either been making his debut in the country in which he was born, or his debut would have been in front of the Wrigley Field faithful.

The hope is that Thursday's lineup does show an eagerness from Craig Counsell to work Caissie into the starting lineup as much as possible. Since July, Caissie has been one of the hottest-hitting prospects in all of baseball. Before being promoted on Thursday, Caissie had 22 home runs with a 143 wRC+.

The timing of Caissie's debut comes at a time when the Cubs' three starting outfielders--Ian Happ, Pete Crow-Armstrong, and Kyle Tucker--are scuffling. If anything, Caissie's arrival will allow Counsell to get creative in working days off for his trio of starting outfielders.

It continues to seem that the Cubs avoided a major injury for Miguel Amaya. When Amaya first landed awkwardly on first base during Wednesday night's victory, it seemed that the young catcher may have suffered a long-term injury. Instead, the belief is that Amaya only suffered a sprained ankle. Considering the alternative, that is a best-case scenario for the Cubs.

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