Caissie homers directly into Canadian flag

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico -- According to MLB Pipeline, Owen Caissie is the No. 42 prospect in all of baseball.

That means the red-headed Marlins outfielder is good. Really good.

Pipeline rates him as having a great arm, good speed, great power and, well, after his dinger during Canada's Pool A World Baseball Classic game against Colombia, scouts should add impeccable aim to his profile.

The 23-year-old hit a homer directly into a Canada flag being held by two Canadian fans. It gave his country an early 2-0 lead over Colombia in the second inning on Saturday. It's Caissie's second time homering in the Classic -- he also did so in 2023.

Oh, and one of those fans? His name is also Owen.

"You see, Owen Caissie hit it to his buddy Owen," Owen Hart laughed.

Hart is from Newfoundland -- it took him two days to get to Puerto Rico by plane. His friend, Shane Nimmo, is from Calgary. And they say they actually called the dinger from Caissie.

"We were just sitting here," Hart said. "Shane said he had a feeling Caissie was gonna go yard."

"Yeah, surprising, I kinda called it," Nimmo laughed.

"I saw the height of the ball and I said, 'Oh wow, that's coming right here,'" Hart said.

Instead of dropping the flag (I mean, you can't just drop the Canadian flag), Nimmo tried to catch it with his hand while still holding the flag. That's why it hit the red and white symbol of Canada.

As Hart quipped, "It's a pretty big flag."

Both Nimmo and Hart are big Cardinals fans, although they cheer on the Blue Jays, too. But the World Baseball Classic is their favorite baseball event -- Hart was in Arizona last year to watch Canada in Pool C.

"I love the Classic," Hart said. "Playing for your country, it almost feels cooler than playing for the team that pays you."