Owen Caissie transforms at loanDepot Park, dominating at home while struggling on the road. His splits reveal a stark contrast between two baseball worlds.
Nobody on the Miami Marlins may be happier to return home than Owen Caissie.
While April is the month when everyone is either doing really well or flat out poorly, Caissie’s splits are a tale between two cities.
When in the friendly confines of loanDepot Park, Caissie has been everything the Marlins expected to get from their top hitting prospect after acquiring him over the offseason in a trade with the Chicago Cubs for Edward Cabrera. Caissie is slashing .379/.429/.619 with 12 RBI through 10 home games so far this season.
He has been a much different hitter away from the Sunshine State. His solo home run on April 3 against the New York Yankees was his only hit during the series. He went 1-for-17 during the previous road trip and is batting .083 overall away from South Florida.
“There's going to certainly be periods of adjustment that go on, particularly in the early stage of your major-league career,” Marlins manager Clayton McCullough said of Caissie.
Caissie had a hot start to his Marlins tenure when he went 6-for-15 in the first five games with six RBI and a walk-off home run on March 31 against the Colorado Rockies. That first homestand established his promise as a future star.
“He got off to a fantastic start the first week,” McCullough said. “We saw what we're so excited about, his ability to slug and impact, and he can be like an extra-base machine with the doubles and homers.”
McCullough sees what Cassie went through as “a little bit of a rough patch there on the road.”
“It's the first time you're getting at the major-league level, at least for everyone, a chance to work through some of that, and hopefully he'll still have a lot of confidence in him,” McCullough said. “I think stretches like this are very normal for every hitter.”
Caissie went 1-for-2 with an RBI during the Marlins’ 7-5 loss Friday night against the Milwaukee Brewers. With the Brewers and St. Louis Cardinals sending out right-handed pitchers throughout the homestand, chances are Caissie will remain in the lineup to capitalize on what has been working for him.
The road troubles will be further tested next weekend, and possibly exacerbated, as the Marlins head to San Francisco and Los Angeles. Like with most young hitters who struggle, McCullough’s advice for Caissie is not letting him “get too much in your own head with why things aren't working out.
“You go back to what the simplest thing is, your approach,” McCullough said. “Over time, that will allow the ability you have to come out.”
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