Cubs top prospect is mashing while Chicago's offense blows its NL Central hopes

For most of the first half of this season, the Chicago Cubs were near or at the very top of the league in offensive production as Kyle Tucker completely changed the dynamic of the starting lineup. Pete Crow-Armstrong turned into a star in a blink of an eye, while Seiya Suzuki set a career high in home runs before the end of June. Michael Busch was an All-Star Game snub after putting up ridiculous numbers that put him into the same company as Shohei Ohtani.

Life was good for Cubs fans, but all that success seems like a lifetime ago after experiencing an extended slump from almost everyone in the lineup.

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Cubs offense in a deep slump

What was once a 6.5-game lead in the NL Central for the Cubs has turned into a 7.5-game deficit beginning play on Wednesday. The Milwaukee Brewers are in the midst of a record-breaking run, so credit to them, but the Cubs certainly haven't helped their cause either during the past two months. Dating back to June 19, the Cubs are 22-23. The offense has been absolutely horrid since the All-Star break, ranking 29th in runs scored over the past 22 games.

The Cubs have scored fewer than four runs in eight out of their past 12 games, and fans are wondering when the front office will shake things up. Craig Counsell, who looks like a broken man at this point, keeps running out the same lineup and he keeps getting the same results. Meanwhile, the top prospect in the farm system is crushing the ball at Triple-A, while the Cubs are desperately looking for a boost. Yet, there aren't any signs that a change is coming.

Owen Caissie dominating at Triple-A

The Cubs held on to top outfield prospect Owen Caissie through the trade deadline. Either other teams don't value the 23-year-old slugger enough or the Cubs view him as their next impact bat. Caissie is doing his part to maintain value at Triple-A, where he's now up to a .966 OPS in 2025.

Caissie is slashing .292/.393/.573 in 92 games with the Iowa Cubs and on Tuesday night he belted his 22nd home run of the season.

Caissie is now in his second year at Triple-A and is making fans wonder why the Cubs aren't calling him up, especially at a time when the big-league club could use a spark. The left-handed hitting outfielder isn't just riding a two- or three-week hot streak, we're talking about a prospect who's been crushing the ball since May.

After a slow start in 2025, Caissie has been dominating Triple-A pitching since May 20, recording a slash line of .330/.424/.633 with 16 of his 22 home runs coming in his last 59 games. The biggest concern surrounding Caissie's hitting profile has always been his strikeout rate. That's hovered in the 30% range throughout his Minor League career, but as he's matured Caissie has been able to decrease his swing and miss.

Since June 15, Caissie's strikeout rate has been at 19.2%, while at the same maintaining a 14.1 BB% and posting a 1.125 OPS in 36 games.

The division race is almost out of reach for the Cubs if they don't pick it up anytime soon, but can they really afford not to bring up their top prospect while the offense looks completely broken? There's never a guarantee that a prospect's success in the Minor Leagues will automatically translate against MLB pitching, but at some point you have to try something, no?