TORONTO -- Marlins outfielder Owen Caissie didn’t know much about failure coming up as a Top 100 prospect. Baseball always came easy to him, and with it came the external expectations for immediate and consistent success.
When the 23-year-old Caissie, the centerpiece of the Marlins' return for Edward Cabrera, got off to a hot start over the season’s first week, there was no reason to think otherwise. But like any young ballplayer will tell you, hardship will arrive at some point.
From April 4-29, Caissie hit .156/.200/.219 with a 42.7% strikeout rate -- highest in the Majors. There was nowhere to hide, and that was fine, because Caissie would rather be in the lineup every day with a chance to break out of it.
“It's just life, I feel like,” Caissie said. “It's not even baseball. You lose your edge a little bit. Sometimes it takes a day to regain it, sometimes it takes a week to regain it, but it just happens, and it's just a matter of how you regain it. Quick or slow. But you have to, or you're getting out of the game.”
When Caissie struck out in Los Angeles last month because he called for time twice in an at-bat, bench coach Carson Vitale decided to have a chat with the struggling rookie.
“I could just notice a couple things that were starting to speed up on him a little bit, like any player, whether you're a rookie or in the game for 20 years,” Vitale said. “Things start to compound over time, and I just felt like that was the right moment. Not that Owen can't handle the Major Leagues, but that felt like the right time, and a right time to just get a little more intimate than when the normal day allows.”
Nearly a month later, the Marlins are seeing more of the Caissie that they anticipated when acquiring him from the Cubs. In Monday night’s 8-2 victory over the hometown Blue Jays at Rogers Centre, the left-handed-hitting Caissie recorded two RBI knocks, including one against a southpaw.
Over his last five games, Caissie has driven in seven runs, with three multi-RBI performances and three extra-base hits. Before this stretch, he had driven in four total runs with only one extra-base hit in May.
Baby steps, but ones Caissie and the Marlins will take.
“His at-bats have really come around, and we're starting to see the production follow suit,” manager Clayton McCullough said. “So happy for Owen. He's hung in there, and he's making some adjustments, and he's getting himself some better pitches to go after. I think we're seeing the performance kind of follow how much better his approach has been.”
McCullough called it Vitale’s "superpower" to talk to players about what’s going on between the ears, and it would be hard to deny the impact it has had on Caissie.
Their talk was more of Vitale asking Caissie questions, allowing him to talk through his mental process and in turn guide him with the necessary tools to succeed at this level.
What motivates him? How does he learn? What are his pregame, in-game and postgame routines?
“When you get punched in the teeth, you have two directions to go: Either you quit, or you find a way to punch back,” Vitale said. “And that's all that is, helping Owen find ways that he can punch back himself.”
In the box, the baseball looked like a golf ball moving toward Caissie at 100 mph. Every plate appearance, he felt hopeless.
It seems incomprehensible that Caissie could experience doubt considering the type of talent he possesses, but the game of baseball -- when a player fails more than he succeeds -- can easily do that.
“I think it's all mental for me, really,” Caissie said. “I'd be lying if I didn't say my ability was there. We have a great support system here, and we love each other like brothers, so I can really go to anyone with anything. … When you feel down, don't be afraid to talk about it, you know what I mean?”
The timing to turn things around is perfect for Caissie, who grew up in nearby Burlington and made his Major League debut with the Cubs on Aug. 14, 2025, at Rogers Centre.
Caissie, along with fellow Team Canada teammates Liam Hicks and Otto Lopez, combined for three hits, three runs, three RBIs and two walks in Monday’s series opener. With the victory, Miami won its season-high fourth straight game.
“Which is even better,” said Caissie, who had at least 30 people in attendance this time around. “I got robbed of a hit here last year, so to really get the first time out of the way in Canada was nice.”