Last night, Chicago Cubs' top prospect, Owen Caissie, went yard three times in a game for the Tennessee Smokies. After starting the year at Double-A, Caissie was off to a slow start, batting under .200 on the year before last night's performance. His first home run came in the first inning in grand fashion, unloading the bases off Jacob Lopez.
Caissie can sometimes get less recognition than he deserves, with Pete-Crow Armstrong, Kevin Alcantara, and Brennen Davis in the mix. Most 20-year-old players are still in college and hoping to be drafted within a year or so. Caissie is already in Double-A Tennessee, mashing 3-homer nights. His ceiling is as high as the rest of the prospects in the Cubs organization. If the World Baseball Classic wasn't evidence enough that Caissie has the potential to be a special player, tonight has undoubtedly done him justice.
Last season, with High-A South Bend, Caissie slashed .254/.349/.402 with 11 home runs and 58 RBIs. So to see him already have power increases at a higher level of competition is a good sign of things to come for the young slugger. His above-average 0.988 fielding percentage is another factor that provides him with a high floor, so when the bat is swinging like it was last night, he has all the potential in the world to be a successful big-league ballplayer.
Caissie will have every opportunity to get at-bats in Tennessee, and hopefully, we will see him further climb the ladder to Triple-A along with PCA this season. The outfield is a little more crowded these days in Chicago with the recent extension of Ian Happ, but you can never have too much talent coming up through the minors. Nevertheless, it's good to see part of the Yu Darvish trade that soured so many Cubs fans start to bear its fruits. Best of luck to Caissie and all Cubs prospects as they navigate their way through the minors.