Fall League Fridays: Cubs prospect Owen Caissie is heating up
One of the prominent figures from the South Bend Cubs 2022 championship run is starting to heat up in Arizona.
Owen Caissie’s fall league campaign got off to a slow start, but his recent run games could be a sign he’s turned a corner.
His 4-game hit streak came to an end Wednesday, but not before raising his batting average 68 points to .250. His biggest performance of the stretch was a 4-RBI game last Saturday that included his 3rd double of the season and his 1st home run.
En route to a massive comeback from the Solar Sox, Owen Caissie smashed his first homer of the AFL season…and it was a bomb 💣 @Cubs pic.twitter.com/9PfdOfE6CU
— MLB's Arizona Fall League (@MLBazFallLeague) October 23, 2022
In the same game, Caissie also logged his 2nd steal of the season and scored 2 runs as the Mesa Solar Sox (10-9) rallied back from a 4-run deficit to win 12-9.
He followed that up with another 2-hit game Monday, including a game-tying RBI single in the 5th and a ground-rule double in the 8th where he would later come around to score the eventual winning run:
Owen Caissie (@owen_caissie) with a pair of knocks tonight.
— Lance Brozdowski (@LanceBroz) October 25, 2022
First was a 1B on a pitch at his knees. Great adjustment from K on slider in 1st AB vs #Cardinals Connor Thomas.
Second was a hard-hit 2B off a hanging slider from #BlueJays Troy Watson.
📽️: @ScottyChags @WatchMarquee pic.twitter.com/NhmTFbA1Tl
Alternate angle:
Nice RBI single for Owen Caissie to tie the game. By the way, he almost got one to the Hornitos tent in BP… pic.twitter.com/7arhhNZbsS
— Cubs Prospects – Bryan Smith (@cubprospects) October 25, 2022
Through 40 at-bats (11 games), Caissie is slashing .250/.286/.425 with 9 RBI. Half of his hits (10) have gone for extra bases.
While it wasn’t the loudest week he’s had in Arizona, Matt Mervis did hit his 5th home run of the season, tying him for the lead.
Mash Mervis strikes again!
— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) October 26, 2022
Fifth AFL homer for the @Cubs prospect, tied for most in the league. pic.twitter.com/LSz1hNKmDg
In this alternate angle, you can see his home run interrupt our Lance Brozdowski as he set up for a spot on “Cubs 360.”
Matt Mervis with a home run seconds before taping a segment.@ScottyChags with the quick camera work to make the most of the missed moment.
— Lance Brozdowski (@LanceBroz) October 26, 2022
5th tank in the @MLBazFallLeague for him. @WatchMarquee pic.twitter.com/PUU3K7cWRl
On the pitching side, Bailey Horn continued his run of scoreless innings last Saturday, pitching an inning and allowing only a walk, bringing his streak to 10 innings. Zac Leigh recorded his 1st save Monday, covering the 9th inning of a Solar Sox 3-1 win, allowing only a walk.
Brennen Davis has still not played since being removed from a game Oct. 10.