In what should come as no surprise, Blue Jays Nation’s top Canadian baseball prospect for the 2025 season is Chicago Cubs’ outfield prospect Owen Caissie.

Hometown: Burlington, ON

Organization: Chicago Cubs

Position: Outfielder

Acquired: 2nd round, 2020 draft (SD)

Placing 54th on MLB Pipeline’s newly minted 2025 top 100 prospects list, Owen Caissie has been consistently talked about as the next great Canadian hitter over the last five years. The Padres selected him out of Notre Dame Catholic Secondary School (Burlington, ON) in 2020 as the highest-drafted Canadian outfielder ever, signing for a somewhat below-slot $1.2 million. The six-foot-three outfielder never ended up playing a game in the organization, instead getting traded to Chicago as one of the key pieces in their acquisition of Yu Darvish that offseason.

Caissie started to make his steady climb through the Cubs’ affiliates in 2021 as one of the youngest players at each level he’s played at. He split time between rookie ball and single-A in his first season, showing off his powerful and patient approach that would only get better over the years. He slashed .302/.434/.489 across 54 games, allowing the organization to feel comfortable with promoting him aggressively.

Over the next three years, the left-handed hitter played entire seasons with the same affiliate, moving up a level each year. The 2022 season may be the year where he struggled the most, yet still finished with a solid .254/.349/.402 line. That same season, he logged 24 games in the Arizona Fall League, where he saw an elevated tick in his strikeouts (24 in 63 plate appearances) while hitting just one home run.

Before the 2023 season, Caissie had the opportunity to play a pivotal role on Team Canada at the World Baseball Classic. Across three games, he had three hits in 13 at-bats, including a home run and four runs driven in. The solid showing on a big stage allowed him to break out in 2023, spending the year with double-A Tennessee and establishing himself as one of the best prospects in the sport. Across 120 games, he slashed .289/.399/.519, with 22 home runs and seven steals, although he was caught nine times.

Given his age, the Cubs were content with moving their top prospect along slowly in 2024. He was just 21 years old for most of last season, 5.3 years (on average) younger than his counterparts in triple-A. It was fair to assume that Caissie may see some struggles going against stiffer and more veteran competition, but he once again produced solid offensive numbers.

Caissie was able to produce similar numbers at triple-A Iowa that he did in double-A, slashing .278/.375/.473 with 18 home runs across 127 games. Unlike in 2023, he was able to produce more efficient numbers on the base paths, swiping 11 bases while only getting caught twice all season. He also split time between left field (42 starts) and right (69), allowing him to feel comfortable with both spots depending on where the big league club may need him in 2025.

Based on his minor-league production since being drafted, the Ontario native has a chance to develop into a big-league star in short order. His power is one of his biggest strengths, and he can tap into it even more as his six-foot-three, 190-pound frame continues to fill out. After hitting 22 homers in 2023 and 19 in 2024 (in 120 and 127 games), it wouldn’t be shocking to see him blossom into a 30-homer hitter in the big leagues over a full season.

Caissie’s keen eye at the plate gives him a safe bet to hit in the top half of a batting lineup for years to come. He posted a 14.4% walk rate in double-A in 2023, following up with a 12.9% mark last year in triple-A. This gives the 22-year-old a high floor as a high on-base guy, even if the power doesn’t take a big leap forward. He has routinely posted elite on-base percentages in the minor leagues, with his .375 mark last year ranking 15th in the International League among batters with at least 400 plate appearances. None of those qualifying hitters were as young as he was, further showing how advanced a hitter he is for his age.

One thing that may pose some issues for Caissie going forward is a higher-than-ideal swing-and-miss rate through the minor leagues. His strikeout numbers have been near 30% in each of his minor league spots, which may be less of an issue considering his career batting average (.278), and aforementioned walk rate.

Defensively, Caissie will settle into one of the corner outfield spots, with his strong arm and size making him a nice fit for right field. His speed will likely allow him to be at least an average outfielder in the big leagues, although his routes going after fly balls have not always been the most crisp. On the basepaths, it remains to be seen whether the stolen base success (11 steals in 13 attempts) in 2024 becomes his new norm since he had struggled with efficiency through his first few seasons (22 of 39). If he steals 10-15 bases a year in the major leagues, it will only add to his well-rounded game.

The Cubs’ trade for outfielder Kyle Tucker limits the likelihood that Caissie will be able to earn a starting spot out of Spring Training. However, our top Canadian prospect will likely be the first man up should an injury occur to one of the team’s outfielders. Starting the year with triple-A Iowa again is the most likely starting point, with his major league debut likely happening at some point around mid-season.

This concludes Blue Jays Nation’s top 20 Canadian baseball prospects for the 2025 season. As we head into the season, we will be monitoring the success of these players as well as others that could find their way onto next year’s list. The 2023 World Baseball Classic roster showed that Canada has a nice mix of veteran and young players who can make an impact. This will likely ring true for the 2026 roster, which we will look ahead to in the coming weeks.

The sheer number of quality players made it difficult to put this list together. Given the top-end talent as well as the sheer number of major league prospects hailing from our country, it is clear that the future of Canadian baseball is in good hands.

2. Tyler Black 

3. Denzel Clarke

4. Matt Wilkinson

5. Mitch Bratt

6. Adam Macko

7. Myles Naylor

8. Jonah Tong

9. Dylan O’Rae

10. Dante Nori

11. Erik Sabrowski

12. Damiano Palmegiani

13. Eric Cerantola

14. Dasan Brown

15. Émilien Pitre

16. Adam Maier

17. Liam Hicks

18. David McCabe

19. Calvin Ziegler

20. Jeremy Pilon