Owen Caissie – Picture via Tennessee Smokies
Welcome to awards week!
Now that the regular minor league season and playoffs are over, only the Arizona Fall League and instructs remain. It simply means that it’s time for our annual awards week. All of us here at North Side Bound will be chiming in with who we think should be the Hitter of the Year, the Starting Pitcher of the Year, the Reliever of the Year, and the Breakout Player of the Year. We may also have a surprise award at the end of the week, but that is yet to be determined.
We did not set any criteria for this award. There was not one certain statistic that we all agreed upon to choose. It was left to each of us individually to pick a player based upon the stats we each felt were most important to showing that player’s true value and performance.
So, without further ado, let’s get to it!
Greg Huss
This award is a clear-cut two-horse race, in my opinion. Both Owen Caissie and Moises Ballesteros are more than deserving of this award, especially considering the age at which they each performed. But I’m rolling with Owen Caissie as my awardee. His 132 BASH was tops in the system among players with at least 350 plate appearances and his .289/.398/.519 slash line is objectively ridiculous.
While it was the raw power-turned-game power that really took off this year, I was surprised to see a batting average that was actually higher than James Triantos, an ISO that mimicked Matt Shaw’s wildly hot start to his career, and a walk rate that was nearly as good as BJ Murray. Put that all together and you’re looking at a complete hitter. Add in the fact that he’s stronger on defense and holds his own on the base paths, and ONKC could be a star.
Greg Zumach
Cubs fans should need know introduction, but what Owen Caissie did this year isn’t getting enough attention. At the age of 20 years old he slashed .289/.398/.519 (144 wRC+) in AA all while facing a whiffle ball for half the season as MLB tried out the pre-tacked baseball in AA. He also answered many of the criticisms of his performance as the season wore on. Strikeouts? After the Southern League went back to normal baseballs, Caissie dropped his strikeout rate to 27.1%. Defense in RF? Caissie dramatically improved his glovework in the outfield. At some point in 2024, it’s likely that Owen Caissie forces his way to the major leagues.
Rich Colaizzi
With all due respect to Owen Caissie and his incredible season, my choice for Hitter of the Year for the loaded Cubs farm system is Moises Ballesteros. Playing in his age 19 season Moises finished the year with a 131 wRC+ and excelled at Myrtle Beach and South Bend, despite being one of the younger players at each level. While his defensive position is still TBD, there is no doubt Moises possesses some of the best bat-to-ball skills in the organization. His power is still to come with 15-20 HR seasons likely as he moves forward in the Cubs system. And I would be remiss if I didn’t toot my own horn, as Moises was my pick for this award at the beginning of the season as well.
Todd Johnson
2023 is easily the hardest year to select just one hitter of the year. Looking back at the year, there were several guys who had excellent seasons including Haydn McGeary, Owen, Caissie, Christian Franklin, Felix Stevens, Moises Ballesteros, Brian Kalmer, Matt Shaw, and Alexander Canario. But it’s very hard to just pick one for the year because so many of these guys could easily make the argument that their statistical performance significance is greater than the other guys.
In the end, just like “The Outlander,” there can be only one. I am rolling with Owen Caissie.
Statistically, Owen had a great year. He wound up hitting .289 with 22 HRs and 84 RBI with a wRC+ of 144 and an OPS of .918. While you could argue some had better years, but what we’ve also seen from Caissie this year is that he starting to fulfill his potential of a guy with massive power. He was 20-years-old when the season started and not on a top hundred prospect list. Now it’s pretty common to see him perched in the 60s or 70s.. MLB Pipeline even gave him the nod as the prospect with the most power in the minors. Yes, there were concerns in the first half about his swing and miss percentage. However, once the Southern League got rid of those tacked balls things went much smoother for Caissie, pun intended.
You can add your own hitter of the year down below in the comments!