TORONTO - Minutes before his major-league debut in the ballpark about 35 miles from his high school against the team he grew up rooting for, Owen Caissie stretched by himself along the right-field line at the Rogers Centre.

The whirlwind journey to get him from Des Moines, Iowa, to Toronto in time for Thursday's start was cutting it close enough that Chicago Cubs manager Craig Counsell wanted to make sure he would get there in time before officially locking him in batting fifth as the designated hitter in a 2-1 loss to the Blue Jays.

Even the Canadian's parents made it to the stadium from their Burlington, Ontario, home before the Cubs top prospect arrived roughly 90 minutes before first pitch. Caissie had enough time to get some swings in the cage before stepping into the box against fu

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