It’s not like it’s been that long since we last discussed Chicago Cubs outfield prospect Owen Caissie, but even in the short, intervening time, the 22-year-old slugger has continued to go off to such a degree that it merited explicit notice.
That includes another monster homer last night:
Up to a .276/.378/.482/123 wRC+ slash line on the season at Iowa, here’s Caissie over the last two weeks: .391/.491/.891/242 wRC+, with five homers, a triple, and six doubles. That’s as many extra-base hits as he has strikeouts in that time. Talk about finishing the season strong.
Even though Caissie is performing at the highest level of the minors, and even though he’s Rule 5 Draft eligible after the season (and thus has to be put on the 40-man roster by November anyway), I don’t know that Caissie will get a late-season cup of coffee the way some other prospects have in recent years.
I can see the merits of a call-up – getting that first big league exposure out of the way when the stakes are a little lower (probably), getting to know the big league coaching staff a little more and some of your future teammates, and getting to see big league pitching before the offseason. If the Cubs want to go that route, I’d definitely be on board.
The flip side, though, is that Caissie would basically never be starting unless someone got hurt (all three outfield spots are taken by everyday-type starters, so is DH, and so is first base). We would not exactly get a healthy dose of COOKIES if Caissie were called up. So the question would be whether there’s more value in letting him play everyday at Iowa the rest of the way, or come up and mostly sit on the big league bench.