Owen

Caissie

Caissie’s 2-RBI double in the fourth-inning was just over the glove of T.J. Friedl in left field, plating two. He added an RBI single in the seventh. Caissie has stabilized in the No. 6 spot against right-handed starters. The platoon role keeps him from being a must-start in fantasy leagues, but he’s looked more than able through his first few weeks in Miami, hitting .324/.385/.618 through his first 34 plate appearances.

Caissie put Miami ahead with a run-scoring single against White Sox starter Erick Fedde as part of a four-run outburst in the fourth inning. He also brought home an additional insurance run with an eighth-inning sacrifice fly. The 23-year-old corner outfielder was the highest-profile prospect to change teams over the offseason and is off to an outstanding start in his Marlins debut, hitting .400 (6-for-15) with one homer, six RBI and one steal through five contests.

With the win, the Marlins swept the Rockies. Probably not the last time we type the last three words of that sentence. Caissie clobbered the walk-off bomb at 107.9 mph for his first first homer as a member of the Marlins, and it seems unlikely to be the last. Caissie’s swing-and-miss make hitting for average seem unlikely, but the power gives him a chance to be relevant in redraft leagues immediately.

Caissie was scheduled to sit against lefty Kyle Freeland, but a late scratch to first baseman Christopher Morel thrusted Caissie into the lineup as the DH. Caissie’s first hit as a Marlin came in the bottom of the second when he doubled off of Freeland to score Xavier Edwards from first. Caissie would come around to score on the next at-bat when Javier Sanoja responded with a double of his own to put the Marlins up 2-0. Caissie had a chance to add to the Marlins’ lead in the eighth inning with two outs and a runner on third, but was called out on strikes to end the inning. We wouldn’t expect Caissie to see too many starts with lefties on the mound, but this was an encouraging outing for the 23-year-old in a spot-start situation.

In spite of a rough spring, Morel was expected to serve as the Marlins’ primary first baseman. Perhaps it’s jumping the gun, but one imagines he’ll have to wait a few weeks now, and who knows if the job will still be there when he gets back? Owen Caissie, who was going to sit versus lefty Kyle Freeland, was inserted in Morel’s place, with Connor Norby switching from DH to first base. Deyvison De Los Santos could be called up if Morel goes on the IL.

Slater finds a new home with the Marlins shortly after opting out of his contract with the Tigers over the weekend. The 33-year-old veteran’s arrival helps soften the blow of losing both Kyle Stowers (hamstring) and Esteury Ruiz (oblique) to injuries last week. He’ll operate in a lefty-mashing capacity off the bench for Miami, serving as a short-side platoon option to complement left-handed corner outfielders Owen Caissie and Griffin Conine.

Jordan Balazovic, Logan Allen (the former Guardian, not the current Guardian) and Brock Dykxhoorn each pitched three innings for Canada and combined to limit Puerto Rico to five hits and six total bases. The win means Wednesday’s Pool A finale between Canada and Cuba will determine who advances to the WBC quarterfinals.

Caissie put Canada on the scoreboard with a two-run homer against Colombia starter Austin Bergner in the second inning. Berner drew the starting assignment after Julio Teheran was scratched just prior to first pitch due to a shoulder impingement. The 23-year-old corner outfielder was one of the more prominent prospects to change organizations this offseason, landing with the Marlins as the primary return from the Cubs for high-upside starter Edward Cabrera. Canada will square off against Panama on Sunday in their next pool play showdown.

The 23-year-old Caissie is the prize of the deal for the Marlins, and he’s obviously ready for a major league gig after hitting .281/.380/.507 with 41 homers in 982 plate appearances for Triple-A Iowa the last two years. Still, his upside is in question, especially given that he’s been striking out 28% of the time in the minors. If the Cubs were particularly high on him, they probably would have kept him and given him a shot in Kyle Tucker’s spot next season. Most likely, he’ll turn out to be a decent enough regular, but not a guy who goes to All-Star games. The Marlins will probably primarily roll with a Kyle Stowers-Jakob Marsee-Caissie outfield, with Griffin Conine more focused on first base and DH.

The deal is pending physicals. Caissie is the 47th-ranked prospect in baseball, according to MLB Pipeline, and a solid return for Miami in exchange for three years of Edward Cabrera. Despite being unable to break into the Cubs’ lineup in 2025, Caissie hit .286/.386/.551 with 22 homers in 99 games for Triple-A Iowa. He did miss time at the end of the season with a concussion, but Caissie pairs solid power with a consistently high walk rate, which helps to offset some of his strikeout concerns. The likely profiles best in right field and will join an exciting young outfield in Miami that also features Kyle Stowers in left field and Jakob Marsee in center field.