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Marlins’ Owen Caissie searching for offensive consistency following Canada’s historic WBC run
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Photo credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images
Thomas Hall
May 26, 2026, 13:30 EDTUpdated: May 26, 2026, 14:41 EDT
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TORONTO — It’s been a busy start to the year for Burlington, Ont.’s Owen Caissie.
Back in January, the 23-year-old outfielder was involved in the Edward Cabrera-to-the-Cubs trade, sent to the Miami Marlins as one of three prospects headed in return for the right-handed starting pitcher. It was already the second time he had been traded in his professional career, as he originally entered Chicago’s farm system as part of the package in the 2020 Yu Darvish blockbuster.
Shortly after Caissie was traded this past off-season, one of his former Cubs teammates reached out to wish him all the best in South Beach — 17-year MLB veteran Justin Turner, who’s currently playing his age-41 season in the Mexican League with Toros de Tijuana.
Turner, of course, spent the first half of the 2024 season with the Toronto Blue Jays before getting traded himself to the Seattle Mariners — a deal that landed the Blue Jays outfield prospect RJ Schreck. He then signed with the Cubs prior to last season, during which he formed a strong connection with Caissie, who’s kept tabs on his former teammate’s post-MLB career.
“He texted me when I got traded [to Miami], and it was really nice of him to do that,” said Caissie, who returned to Toronto for the second time in his career ahead of Monday’s series opener against the Blue Jays.
Caissie said he received an overwhelming number of ticket demands from friends and family, but could only provide four tickets, given that he’s still a rookie in his first full major-league season. He also didn’t have time to make a brief stop back home in Burlington before the series began, largely due to his parents’ work schedule, but also because of how long it’d take to make that drive, both to and from, on the always-slow-moving Gardiner Expressway.
Reflecting on his inaugural campaign as a Marlin, the left-handed-hitting outfielder described these first few months as a “smooth transition,” helped by the fact he’s already been traded once before. So, he knew what to expect this time around.
At the same time, however, Caissie didn’t have much time to get acclimated to his new surroundings and teammates upon arriving for spring training in February. Before too long, he had to leave camp in preparation for the 2026 World Baseball Classic, suiting up for Team Canada for the second time in three years.
The best-on-best tournament served as Caissie’s breakout stage, as he played an integral role in helping his country advance past the preliminary round for the first time in WBC history. He appeared in all five games, going 7-for-17 (.412) with three doubles, one home run and five RBIs.
“Representing Canada is really special,” he said. “[It has] a special place in my heart. I love my country, so it was awesome.”
After Canada was eliminated in the knockout round by Team USA, Caissie returned to Marlins camp with only a few weeks before Opening Day arrived. It was a rather “weird” experience dialling back the intensity from WBC games to Grapefruit League play. He didn’t have to endure it alone, though, as two of his fellow Canadian and Marlins teammates (Liam Hicks and Otto Lopez) also had to make the same adjustment.
That made the whole situation relatable to the three of them, which Caissie believes they’ll ultimately be better for in the long run.
It’s possible that contributed to his red-hot start to the 2026 season, featuring a .324/.385/.618 slash line with four doubles, two home runs, 12 RBIs and a 175 wRC+ (100 league average) across his first 12 games with Miami. But he also struck out 13 times and only earned three walks in that span, an area that opposing pitchers will continue to exploit until he displays improved plate discipline.
As such, Caissie’s production declined through the rest of April and had been trending in the wrong direction until recently. Following Monday’s 2-for-4 showing with a pair of RBIs, he’s now hitting .300/.364/.567 with a pair of doubles and home runs each while driving in nine over his last 12 games.
The rookie outfielder has seen a dramatic uptick in his quality-of-contact metrics, with half of his 16 batted ball events producing an exit velocity of at least 95 m.p.h. over this encouraging span. As a result, this surge has pushed his average exit velocity (91.2 m.p.h.) on the year into the 81st percentile of the majors, sitting alongside his 80th-percentile average bat speed (74.6 m.p.h.).
How long Caissie can sustain this offensive surge remains the question, considering he’s still striking out over 40 per cent of the time, and also owns the highest overall strikeout rate (41.5 per cent) thus far among qualified major-league hitters with at least 100 plate appearances.
Based on the amount of superstar potential he showcased during the WBC, though, there’s plenty of talent and youth worth betting on here, particularly for a surprisingly competitive Marlins squad that appears to be trending towards a return to meaningful baseball — even if they might be a year or two ahead of schedule.
“We keep grinding as a team,” said Caissie, whose team enters Tuesday on a four-game winning streak, exiting on the other side of a stretch that included three straight series defeats. “We’ve hit a little bit of rough patch, but, you know, it happens. Good teams go through it, and we’re going to come out on top.”

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