Cubs (Horton) vs Blue Jays (Gausman): 8/13/25, 6:07pm

[Jason Ross]

Really cool to see Caissie called up. I was expecting a roster space hold-type and am always happy to be wrong but Caissie gives the team some thump off the bench. Add in the Canada connection for his first MLB game? Has to be extra special. 

I wouldnt expect to see him often, and he wont supplant Ian Happ as much as a few people want him to. But hopefully he will have a few cool moments in the last few weeks of the season.

[Geographyhater8888]

1 minute ago, Jason Ross said:

Really cool to see Caissie called up. I was expecting a roster space hold-type and am always happy to be wrong but Caissie gives the team some thump off the bench. Add in the Canada connection for his first MLB game? Has to be extra special. 

I wouldnt expect to see him often, and he wont supplant Ian Happ as much as a few people want him to. But hopefully he will have a few cool moments in the last few weeks of the season.

Was looking for you. It’s better to have his upside on the bench than a useless Lopez, does this mean they’ll play musical chairs with the outfield a couple times a week to give some of the everyday bags a rest? It’s unfortunate our best farm talent are all left handed hitting outfielders/DH when we need right handed platoon bats. 

[NorthsideAvenger]

Why can't Cassie be used in rotation with the rest of the OF? I'm not saying he should start and X benched but what if on Thursday he is in LF, Happ gets a day off. The next game he is in RF and Tucker sits, and so on and so on? I mean what's the point of calling up Cassie if he does not get to play?

[Jason Ross]

21 minutes ago, Geographyhater8888 said:

Was looking for you. It’s better to have his upside on the bench than a useless Lopez, does this mean they’ll play musical chairs with the outfield a couple times a week to give some of the everyday bags a rest? It’s unfortunate our best farm talent are all left handed hitting outfielders/DH when we need right handed platoon bats. 

He probably offers more off the bench, but I would expect to see him very little. Maybe one start a week if theyre against a lot of RHH. But he wont factor in any game with a LHP on the mound outside of a PH late and won't be valuable as a defensive asset or on the bases so even when he does start, he may only play through the 6th or 7th inning.

This is probably as much about on-boarding him as a MLB player than it is anything else.

[Rcal10]

48 minutes ago, Jason Ross said:

He probably offers more off the bench, but I would expect to see him very little. Maybe one start a week if theyre against a lot of RHH. But he wont factor in any game with a LHP on the mound outside of a PH late and won't be valuable as a defensive asset or on the bases so even when he does start, he may only play through the 6th or 7th inning.

This is probably as much about on-boarding him as a MLB player than it is anything else.

About the most I can see Cassie being used is like geo8888 said. Fill in for a guy. They may even go back to Suzuki in center to give PCA a breather. Maybe be gets 3 games a week. As Jason said, he isn’t replacing any of those guys on a regular basis. 

[CubUgly]

1 hour ago, Jason Ross said:

Really cool to see Caissie called up. I was expecting a roster space hold-type and am always happy to be wrong but Caissie gives the team some thump off the bench. Add in the Canada connection for his first MLB game? Has to be extra special. 

I wouldnt expect to see him often, and he wont supplant Ian Happ as much as a few people want him to. But hopefully he will have a few cool moments in the last few weeks of the season.

We need to at least try something to get us out of our hitting malaise - get some juice.  Hope he can give us a bump. 

[NorthsideAvenger]

8 hours ago, Tangled Up in Plaid said:

Debut against Scherzer is a hell of an ask, even if he's lost some stuff.

OTOH he would be making his debut in Canada, which is a big deal for Canadians. Yeah, I give him the start. 

Edited August 14, 2025 by NorthsideAvenger

[Jason Ross]

14 minutes ago, CubUgly said:

We need to at least try something to get us out of our hitting malaise - get some juice.  Hope he can give us a bump. 

I think this is faulty logic. We like to believe that placing a random player into the lineup will suddenly "spark plug" the offense, but it's a poor gamble. Who's more likely to hit well tonight? Kyle Tucker, one of the best hitters in baseball over the course of half a decade? Ian Happ, the 12th best OF'er in baseball since 2022? Seiya Suzuki, who's posted a career 128 wRC+? Pete Crow-Armstrong, who's been one of the best players all season in baseball? Or the rookie who's never taken a single PA in his MLB career? We get so caught up in slumps that we forget that even when  a player isn't going so well, that many times it suggests that the slump is closer to ending than continuing. None of these players are broken forever, and any night is a chance for them to just get to normal. They have had off days, so they don't "need" a break (insert a struggling hitter and they had a day off last week and Monday off as a team). 

It's pretty clear who the answer is. While I understand that Owen Caissie represents a grab bag of possibilities right now, especially in his initial run as an MLB hitter, that grab bag is disproportionally filled with poor outcomes. Only after learning the league can we expect that to change. So, sure, there is a possibility that Owen Caissie defies the odds and hits well, better than players with significant track record, but it's a very low possibility. I defended giving Matt Shaw plenty of time, but that was as the season was young and there was time for that learning to happen. Owen Caissie doesn't have the same luxury in mid-August. 

We too often see only the potential good in the unknown and ignore all of the bad. It's why the backup quarterback is everyone's favorite player on a team...that is...until he takes a few snaps and we all remember why he was the backup to begin with. 

Owen Caissie is a good prospect. I've been high on him for a while, and higher than most. Given a few hundred PA's, I think Caissie can be a very good MLB player. Right now, the likelihood that he is better than any of the Cubs OF'ers is very slim.

[Geographyhater8888]

19 minutes ago, Rcal10 said:

About the most I can see Cassie being used is like geo8888 said. Fill in for a guy. They may even go back to Suzuki in center to give PCA a breather. Maybe be gets 3 games a week. As Jason said, he isn’t replacing any of those guys on a regular basis. 

That’s the only way this makes sense. It’s uncharacteristic of the Cubs to bring up a top prospect just to see as much action as a bullpen catcher like Berti. Especially when he doesn’t offer the position flexibility or pinch running ability of Brujan or Berti. 

[Geographyhater8888]

6 minutes ago, Jason Ross said:

I think this is faulty logic. We like to believe that placing a random player into the lineup will suddenly "spark plug" the offense, but it's a poor gamble. Who's more likely to hit well tonight? Kyle Tucker, one of the best hitters in baseball over the course of half a decade? Ian Happ, the 12th best OF'er in baseball since 2022? Seiya Suzuki, who's posted a career 128 wRC+? Pete Crow-Armstrong, who's been one of the best players all season in baseball? Or the rookie who's never taken a single PA in his MLB career? We get so caught up in slumps that we forget that even when  a player isn't going so well, that many times it suggests that the slump is closer to ending than continuing. None of these players are broken forever, and any night is a chance for them to just get to normal. They have had off days, so they don't "need" a break (insert a struggling hitter and they had a day off last week and Monday off as a team). 

It's pretty clear who the answer is. While I understand that Owen Caissie represents a grab bag of possibilities right now, especially in his initial run as an MLB hitter, that grab bag is disproportionally filled with poor outcomes. Only after learning the league can we expect that to change. So, sure, there is a possibility that Owen Caissie defies the odds and hits well, better than players with significant track record, but it's a very low possibility. I defended giving Matt Shaw plenty of time, but that was as the season was young and there was time for that learning to happen. Owen Caissie doesn't have the same luxury in mid-August. 

We too often see only the potential good in the unknown and ignore all of the bad. It's why the backup quarterback is everyone's favorite player on a team...that is...until he takes a few snaps and we all remember why he was the backup to begin with. 

Owen Caissie is a good prospect. I've been high on him for a while, and higher than most. Given a few hundred PA's, I think Caissie can be a very good MLB player. Right now, the likelihood that he is better than any of the Cubs OF'ers is very slim.

What’s Cassie’s ceiling in your opinion? WAR wRC+ home runs etc.

Edited August 14, 2025 by Geographyhater8888

[Brian707]

Cubs hit the ball hard yesterday.  Just seems like it was right at somebody.  This continues,  they will score more than 4 runs

[CubinNY]

41 minutes ago, Geographyhater8888 said:

What’s Cassie’s ceiling in your opinion? WAR wRC+ home runs etc.

It depends on how much he can control his strikeouts. I'm lower than most people on him. I'd rather they traded him at the deadline. It's going to take him a while to settle in, and it's likely going to be pretty ugly for a good portion of that time. 

[squally1313]

Caissie deserves the call up and there’s value added to his career progression just by being on the big league roster, spending 6 weeks with the cubs coaches and successful veteran outfielders, etc. 

Caissie is absolutely the 5th best option to start games for a team that is, at least theoretically, fighting for a playoff spot, and his role should be treated as such. Matt Shaw gave you defense and baserunning and also we had zero other options. This is not the case here. Kyle Tucker won’t hit the ball harder because the cubs benched Suzuki for a prospect, that’s not a real thing. Play your good four outfielders, give Caissie a start a week, let him play in blowouts, and tell him to be ready for a bad righty reliever (and even then, who are you taking out for his AB). 

[Jason Ross]

54 minutes ago, Geographyhater8888 said:

What’s Cassie’s ceiling in your opinion? WAR wRC+ home runs etc.

I think what Kyle Stowars is doing in Miami this year feels like a really good outcome for Owen Caissie. He is sitting at a 147 wRC+, and has been worth 3.8 fWAR. He has probably added more offensive base running value than I expect Caissie to add, but has done most of his damage against RHP.

I think expecting that outcome feels rich, and I think we should expect less than that, but it also feels possible.

[Guest]

You never know, Caissie could come up and crush the ball and get alot of playing time. It's not likely as a rook but it's happened before. At any rate we have a new toy so let's see what he can do

[Connor McConnor]

2 hours ago, Jason Ross said:

Really cool to see Caissie called up. I was expecting a roster space hold-type and am always happy to be wrong but Caissie gives the team some thump off the bench. Add in the Canada connection for his first MLB game? Has to be extra special. 

I wouldnt expect to see him often, and he wont supplant Ian Happ as much as a few people want him to. But hopefully he will have a few cool moments in the last few weeks of the season.

Let the FUN begin!@.  I know it might not work, but what the hell.  

[Bertz]

16 minutes ago, squally1313 said:

Caissie deserves the call up and there’s value added to his career progression just by being on the big league roster, spending 6 weeks with the cubs coaches and successful veteran outfielders, etc. 

Caissie is absolutely the 5th best option to start games for a team that is, at least theoretically, fighting for a playoff spot, and his role should be treated as such. Matt Shaw gave you defense and baserunning and also we had zero other options. This is not the case here. Kyle Tucker won’t hit the ball harder because the cubs benched Suzuki for a prospect, that’s not a real thing. Play your good four outfielders, give Caissie a start a week, let him play in blowouts, and tell him to be ready for a bad righty reliever (and even then, who are you taking out for his AB). 

100% to all of this

In the spring The Athletic mentioned that the team wanted to do this all year.  Have each of Caissie/Alcantara/Mo just come up periodically and hang out for a few weeks.  I suspect the non catcher parts of the bench being so useless in the 1st half is a big part of why that didn't happen.  But now there's an opportunity with Castro on hand.

[Derwood]

Horton with a 1.13 ERA over his last 7 starts

[CubUgly]

1 hour ago, Jason Ross said:

I think this is faulty logic. We like to believe that placing a random player into the lineup will suddenly "spark plug" the offense, but it's a poor gamble. Who's more likely to hit well tonight? Kyle Tucker, one of the best hitters in baseball over the course of half a decade? Ian Happ, the 12th best OF'er in baseball since 2022? Seiya Suzuki, who's posted a career 128 wRC+? Pete Crow-Armstrong, who's been one of the best players all season in baseball? Or the rookie who's never taken a single PA in his MLB career? We get so caught up in slumps that we forget that even when  a player isn't going so well, that many times it suggests that the slump is closer to ending than continuing. None of these players are broken forever, and any night is a chance for them to just get to normal. They have had off days, so they don't "need" a break (insert a struggling hitter and they had a day off last week and Monday off as a team). 

It's pretty clear who the answer is. While I understand that Owen Caissie represents a grab bag of possibilities right now, especially in his initial run as an MLB hitter, that grab bag is disproportionally filled with poor outcomes. Only after learning the league can we expect that to change. So, sure, there is a possibility that Owen Caissie defies the odds and hits well, better than players with significant track record, but it's a very low possibility. I defended giving Matt Shaw plenty of time, but that was as the season was young and there was time for that learning to happen. Owen Caissie doesn't have the same luxury in mid-August. 

We too often see only the potential good in the unknown and ignore all of the bad. It's why the backup quarterback is everyone's favorite player on a team...that is...until he takes a few snaps and we all remember why he was the backup to begin with. 

Owen Caissie is a good prospect. I've been high on him for a while, and higher than most. Given a few hundred PA's, I think Caissie can be a very good MLB player. Right now, the likelihood that he is better than any of the Cubs OF'ers is very slim.

I am under no delusion that this solves our problem in the long run, we'll need our best hitter to be himself and not Jason Heyward like he's basically been the last 6 weeks and we'll need our other good hitters to at least start hitting to their mean the rest of the year. 

But sometimes one spark can re-set a team -  I do believe that happens an exists.  What's happening is in their heads pretty bad right now - I'm not saying - if he falls on his face which is a possibility, it's not like whoever's place he was taking was doing much better.  

[Tryptamine]

56 minutes ago, Jason Ross said:

I think what Kyle Stowars is doing in Miami this year feels like a really good outcome for Owen Caissie. He is sitting at a 147 wRC+, and has been worth 3.8 fWAR. He has probably added more offensive base running value than I expect Caissie to add, but has done most of his damage against RHP.

I think expecting that outcome feels rich, and I think we should expect less than that, but it also feels possible.

 

I've kind of see him as an Adam Dunn with slightly less raw power, a good bit less game power currently, and significantly better defense. Posting lines like .230/.330/.500 is probably not an unrealistic outcome for him. If he can be more of a 27K% then a 33-35K% guy that's when he starts getting pretty damn exciting.

[mul21]

I wouldn't be surprised if you see Caissie supplant Seiya at DH a decent amount against RHP.  He was borderline bad against them before this slump and he's been absolutely wretched against them during it.  I don't expect magic, but I like the possibility of him running into a couple HRs over the next few weeks.  He's going to swing and miss but based on the minor league data, he makes decent swing decisions so hopefully he gets some fastballs to test him early and does damage.

[We Got The Whole 9]

2 minutes ago, mul21 said:

I wouldn't be surprised if you see Caissie supplant Seiya at DH a decent amount against RHP.  He was borderline bad against them before this slump and he's been absolutely wretched against them during it.  I don't expect magic, but I like the possibility of him running into a couple HRs over the next few weeks.  He's going to swing and miss but based on the minor league data, he makes decent swing decisions so hopefully he gets some fastballs to test him early and does damage.

He does have the 3/4/6 slash line vs RHP this year. I hope they do give him a couple starts. 

[squally1313]

Minor league stats are not the same as major league stats, come on guys. Seiya's slump has been bad, but there's only one way out of it and if we thought Owen Caissie was better than Seiya's YTD 116 wRC against RHP (138 in 2024!), then he should have been up months ago.

[Bertz]

6 minutes ago, squally1313 said:

Minor league stats are not the same as major league stats, come on guys. Seiya's slump has been bad, but there's only one way out of it and if we thought Owen Caissie was better than Seiya's YTD 116 wRC against RHP (138 in 2024!), then he should have been up months ago.

Case in point: Matt Shaw hit better than Owen Caissie at Iowa this year, and we saw how long it took him to be a significant contributor

[Stratos]

5 hours ago, Jason Ross said:

Really cool to see Caissie called up. I was expecting a roster space hold-type and am always happy to be wrong but Caissie gives the team some thump off the bench. Add in the Canada connection for his first MLB game? Has to be extra special. 

I wouldnt expect to see him often, and he wont supplant Ian Happ as much as a few people want him to. But hopefully he will have a few cool moments in the last few weeks of the season.

Caissie grew up in the area, he must be excited.