Marlins Red-Hot Rookie Looking to Climb MLB Right Fielder Rankings
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The Miami Marlins made a handful of trades this offseason, but none were more important than the acquisition of Owen Caissie from the Chicago Cubs. Caissie has a tremendously high ceiling, and the Marlins gave away an established pitcher for him, banking on that potential to be reached.
Caissie has had himself a strong spring thus far as he prepares to be the everyday right fielder for the Marlins, continuing his rookie season that got underway with Chicago. His World Baseball Classic performance with Team Canada was impressive, but he must focus on the 162-game season that lies ahead.
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While he still needs to prove himself to the rest of the league, Caissie made an impression on Bleacher Report's Joel Rueter, as he ranked him as a Top 25 right fielder in the MLB right now, heading into 2026.
Caissie Ranked 25th-Best RF Overall
Rueter ranked Caissie as the 25th-best right fielder for the 2026 season, and the ranking can be viewed in one of two ways.
First off, Caissie has yet to prove himself during the regular season, but that doesn't mean he won't, but he hasn't yet to warrant a higher ranking.
Second, Caissie being ranked 25th shows that he has a promising future ahead of him, passing the likes of MLB veterans Mike Tauchman, Tyler O'Neill, and Luke Raley.
"The 23-year-old has hit .281/.380/.507 with 41 home runs in 226 games at Triple-A over the last two years, and he is a dark horse in the NL Rookie of the Year race," Rueter wrote.
His spring training has been rough with the Marlins, holding a .100 average. But his WBC performance was promising enough that Miami needed to ensure they made the right decision on finalizing the trade.
Miami has a young crew of hitters, but they were also one of the better contact-hitting teams in 2025. If they are slept on, the Marlins and Caissie could steamroll their way back to the playoffs for the first time since 2023, after making the National League Wild Card.
The Marlins wouldn't have made this trade if they didn't believe Caissie could be a power threat at the plate, while also believing in their young pitchers coming through the system.
Pairing Caissie with Kyle Stowers as a power threat, complemented by Xavier Edwards and Otto Lopez's contact skills, the Marlins are a sneaky team that could do something special this season.
Dominic Minchella is a 2024 Eastern Michigan University graduate with a BA in Communications, Media, and Theatre Arts and a Journalism minor. He covers Major League Baseball for On SI and spends his free time watching games and sharing his insights.