Captains of the Week (4/7-4/12/26): Franklin Gómez & Bennett Thompson
MWL Lake County Captains

Captains of the Week (4/7-4/12/26): Franklin Gómez & Bennett Thompson

Published on April 14, 2026 under Midwest League (MWL)
Lake County Captains News Release


EASTLAKE, Ohio - After each series this season, the Lake County Captains will spotlight two Captains of the Week, presented by Official League, showcasing a pitcher and a position player and their strong performances from the previous week.

For the week of April 7-12, Lake County is recognizing LHP Franklin Gómez and C Bennett Thompson as the second set of Captains of the Week for the 2026 season for their remarkable showings against the Dayton Dragons (High-A, Reds).

FRANKLIN GÓMEZ, LHP

Gómez had a pair of impressive starts at Dayton to begin his 2026 season. The left-hander allowed just one run on six hits, while throwing 11 strikeouts to just three walks in eight combined innings of work, limiting the Dragons to a .207 batting average.

Gómez shined in his Guardians organization debut on Tuesday, April 7, throwing seven strikeouts across four scoreless innings in an eventual 6-2 Lake County victory. Five days later, he threw four strikeouts to just one walk in another four innings of work, surrendering just one run on two hits in an eventual 7-4 Captains win on Sunday, April 12.

The 20-year-old's 1.13 ERA through his first two starts of the year ranks fourth in the Midwest League.

Gómez was acquired by the Cleveland Guardians from the New York Mets on Jan. 15, 2026 in exchange for international bonus pool money. The Ocumare de la Costa, Venezuela native was Baseball America's No. 22 Mets prospect at one point during the 2025 season.

The southpaw spent the 2025 campaign with the Single-A St. Lucie Mets and High-A Brooklyn Cyclones. He began the year with Single-A St. Lucie, logging a 1.85 ERA and .178 opposing batting average in 48.2 innings pitched before being promoted to High-A Brooklyn on July 31.

Gómez was eventually a member of Brooklyn's 2025 South Atlantic League Championship team, throwing seven strikeouts across seven scoreless innings in two postseason appearances (one start). He started the championship-clinching Game 2 of the 2025 South Atlantic League Championship Series at Hub City (High-A, Rangers), allowing just two hits and one walk in four scoreless innings, throwing five strikeouts.

BENNETT THOMPSON, C

Thompson had an outstanding series at the plate at Dayton this past week.

In four games played, the right-handed hitter ranked top-five in the Midwest League in on-base percentage (.611, second), OPS (1.361, second), slugging percentage (.750, tied for third), batting average (.417, fifth), and walks (six, tied for fifth). He also led Lake County with five runs scored, while logging a double, a home run, and three RBI.

Thompson recorded an RBI in each of his final three games played against the Dragons this past week, including a solo home run in a 7-4 series finale win on Sunday, April 12.

The 23-year-old has reached base in each of his first six games of the season, hitting safely in each of his last five. He is tied for the Midwest League lead with 10 walks this year, while ranking second in the league in slugging percentage (.813), OPS (1.428), and home runs (two, tied), third in on-base percentage (.615), and eighth in batting average (.375).

Thompson originally joined Lake County after being promoted from Single-A Lynchburg (now Hill City) on Aug. 11, 2025. The 2024 13th-round pick out of Oregon batted .302 in 17 games for the Captains last year, tallying 19 hits, five doubles, one home run, five RBI, 10 walks to 11 strikeouts, and a .400 on-base percentage.

The Captains will begin a six-game home series versus the Fort Wayne TinCaps (High-A, Padres) on Tuesday, April 14, at 6:35 p.m. at Classic Auto Group Park in Eastlake. Each game will be broadcast on the Bally Sports Live App, MLB.TV, the MiLB App, and StreamGuys, with social media coverage courtesy of @LCCaptains on X and Instagram.

Check out the Lake County Captains Statistics

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The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

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