August 2, 2023

By George Farelli

Canadian Baseball Network

OF Owen Caissie recently turned 21 and, in only his third season as a pro player, is already excelling at the double-A level with the Tennessee Smokies.

Originally drafted by San Diego Padres in the COVID-19 curtailed 2020 draft and, prior to playing a single game in the Padres organization, Caissie (Burlington, Ont.) was traded to the Chicago Cubs in the Yu Darvish transaction.

His very rapid development within the Cubs system since that time has him currently rated, by some credible minor league evaluators, as the third best prospect in the organization.

He has enjoyed an excellent year with Tennessee, but this week could be considered exceptional in a five-game series against league rivals Rocket City Trash Pandas. He was a key factor in the Smokies who won three games.

In 18 at bats, Caissie produced eight base hits, scored six times, hit two home runs and knocked in seven runs, while generating a .444 batting average. The average led all Canadians currently active in 2023 with minor league affiliated teams.

And that hot week earned Caissie Canadian Baseball Network minor league Player of the Week for Week XVII. The former FieldHouse Pirate and Junior National Team member was named MiLB.com’s as Player of the Week for the Double A Southern League as well.

How the week went for Caissie as he ...

_ Batted third and played right field went 1-for-5 in the Smokies 8-4 win at Toyota Field before 4,408 fans. Caissie had a run-scoring single in the top of the ninth. Meanwhile Angels farmhand LF David Calabrese (Maple, Ont.) had a pair of hits knocking in a run: he hit his 17th double to centre and scored in the first as well as hitting a single to right in the third.

_ Playing right and hitting third, he was 2-for-4 with four RBIs in a 10-2 win before 5,168 fans. Caissie hit a two-run homer to right centre in the first -- his 17th -- and doubled to RF Calabrese knocking in a run. LF Jordan Nwogu (Orleans, Ont.) was 1-for-5).

_ Batting third and playing right, he was 2-for-3 in an 8-4 loss in front of 6,237 fans. Caissie led off the fourth with a double to centre and doubled to centre again in the eighth giving him 21 on the season.

_ DHing and batting third, he was 1-for-3 with an RBI in a 7-2 victory before 6,456. Caissie singled to centre in the sixth and knocked in a run. Calabrese singled for the Trash Pandas.

_ Playing right and hitting third, he was 2-for-3 with a pair of RBIs in an 11-2 before 4,950. Caissie grounded out in the third to chase home Nwogu, who reached when hit by a pitch, singled in the sixth and hit his 18th homer of the season to centre in the ninth. Calabrese singled in a run in the eighth.

Best Offensive Performances

Name Class Team AB R H HR RBI AVG

Owen Caissie AA Tennessee 18 6 8 2 7 .444

Damiano Palmegiani AA New Hampshire 17 4 7 1 8 .412

David McCabe A Rome 22 7 9 2 5 .409

Matt Coutney A Tri City 19 2 6 - 3 .316

Francisco Hernandez A Peoria 17 3 5 2 4 .294

J.D. Osborne IND Kane County 11 1 6 - 2 .545

L.P. Pelletier IND Trois Rivieres 20 5 10 3 4 .500

Marc Antoine Lebreux IND Quebec 13 3 6 - 2 .462

Riley Jepson IND Great Falls 22 4 10 - 4 .455

Matt Warkentin IND Joliet 14 1 6 1 2 .429

David Glaude IND Quebec 19 1 8 1 7 .421

Noah Myers IND Evansville 19 4 8 1 4 .421

Wes Darvill IND Washington 20 4 7 - 2 .350

Brendon Dadson IND Trois Rivieres 18 3 6 - 6 .333

Dane Tofteland IND Ogden 12 3 4 2 3 .333

(Minimum 10 ABs)

Best Pitching Performances

Name Class Team G W S ERA INN K WHIP

Adam Macko A Vancouver 1 1 - 0.00 5.0 7 1.000

It’s a well-known fact that Macko was born in Bratislava, Slovakia. His family immigrated to Canada and he grew up in Stony Plain, Alta., so we can assume, making adjustments in life is nothing new for him. This past off season, another change occurred which saw him traded by the Seattle Mariners to the Toronto Blue Jays, in the huge deal involving Teoscar Hernandez and Erik Swanson, and of course the 22-year-old had to adapt to a new organization. As might be expected, there have been some early season “bumps in the road,” but recently Adam is now showing signs of making some steady progress with his Vancouver team. This week in a 7-0 Canadians win over Everett Aquasox he pitched five scoreless allowing two hits while striking out seven, to earn his third win of the season. This outing improved his overall record with Vancouver in 14 Single A Northwest League appearances, to 3-4 with a 5.68 ERA, which also includes 63 strikeouts in 58 2/3 innings pitched.

Previous Players of the Week

Week I _ Edouard Julien (Ancienne-Lorette, Que.) triple-A St. Paul Saints (Twins)

Week II _ Cade Smith (Abbotsford, BC) double-A Akron RuberDucks (Guardians).

Week III _ Abraham Toro (Longuiel, Que.) triple-A Nashville Sounds (Brewers)

Week IV _ Denzel Clarke (Pickering, Ont.) double-A Midland (A’s) and Trei Cruz (Toronto, Ont.) double-A Erie (Tigers)

Week V _ Wesley Moore (Surrey, BC) class-A Clearwater Threshers (Phillies).

Week VI _ Matt Coutney (Wetaskiwin, Alta.) class-A Inland Empire (Angels).

Week VII _ Damiano Palmegiani (Surrey, BC) double-A New Hampshire Fisher Cats (Jays)

Week VIII _ Matt Coutney (Wetaskiwin, Alta.) class-A Inland Empire (Angels) annd David McCabe (Courtice, Ont.) and Augusta Greenjackets (Braves.)

Week IX _ Erik Sabrowski (Edmonton, Alta.) double-A Akron Rubber Ducks (Guardians)

Week X _ Mitch Bratt (Newmarket, Ont.) class-A Hickory Crawdads (Mets)

Week XI _ Jared Young (Prince George, BC) triple-A Iowa (Cubs).

Week XII _ Mike Soroka (Calgary, Alta.) triple-A Gwinnett Stripers (Braves)

Week XIII _ Abraham Toro (Longeuil, Que.) triiple-A Nashville Sounds (Brewers)

Week XIV _ Miguel Cienfuegos (Laval, Que.)class-A Lake Elsinore Storm (Padres)

Week XV _ Zac Fascia (Brampton, Ont.) class-A Lynchburg Hillcats (Guardians.

Week XVI_ Abraham Toro (Longeuil, Que.) triiple-A Nashville Sounds (Brewers)

Week XVii _ Owen Caissie (Burlington, Ont.) double-A Tennessee (Cubs)