The Chicago Cubs have a pretty incredible player developing in the farm system for what seems like far too long: outfielder Owen Caissie. Caissie’s opportunity to join the majors has been hindered due to a stacked outfield that included Ian Happ, Pete Crow-Armstrong, and Kyle Tucker. But more opportunities should arise in 2026.

There is plenty of speculation about Tucker’s future with the team, which appears fairly bleak. Tucker is going to require whatever team picks him up to spend a pretty penny, and arguably, the Cubs should not be the ones to do it after his performance this year.

With the veteran likely departing, this will give the opportunity for Caissie to step into a more permanent role with the club, which feels long overdue. Caissie might have made his debut this year, but it wasn’t for very long despite helping the team overcome the Milwaukee Brewers in a five-game playoff series.

Now, with the likelihood of Caissie stepping onto the field with a heavier workload for the Cubs, there is one MLB insider, JIm Callis, who has rightfully named the 23-year-old a candidate for next year’s National League Rookie of the Year.

“I’ve always been a big Owen Caissie fan. I pound the table for him whenever we’re doing rankings. He’s always been very young for his league. He’s always produced. He repeated Triple-A — which I don’t see as a negative because he was 22 years old when he repeated it — and hit 41 homers at Triple-A over the past two seasons,” said Callis.

Caissie in Professional Baseball Thus Far

At 18 years old and fresh out of high school, he was drafted by the San Diego Padres, but a few short months later, Caissie was dealt to the Cubs, who had shown a great deal of interest in the top prospect before that 2020 draft.

After spending five seasons in the Cubs’ farm system, he has emerged as their (arguably) No.1 prospect, which makes him a near shoo-in for the 2026 opening day roster. He worked his way to Triple-A and spent both 2024 and 2025 there. And in that time, he has been more than impressive.

226 games with the Triple-A Iowa Cubs

• .282 Batting Average
• .381 On-Base Percentage
• .512 Slugging Percentage
• .893 OPS
• 237 Total Hits
• 57 Doubles
• 5 Triples
• 41 Home Runs
• 130 RBI
• 128 Drawn Walks
• 16 Stolen Bases

If Caissie looks anything like he did in Triple-A the past two seasons, then he could easily be in contention for the lucrative Rookie of the Year title.

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