Captains of the Week (5/5-5/10/26): Cam Schuelke & Jeffrey Mercedes
MWL Lake County Captains

Captains of the Week (5/5-5/10/26): Cam Schuelke & Jeffrey Mercedes

Published on May 11, 2026 under Midwest League (MWL)
Lake County Captains News Release


EASTLAKE, Ohio - For the week of May 5-10, Lake County is recognizing RHP Cam Schuelke and INF Jeffrey Mercedes as the sixth set of Captains of the Week for the 2026 season for their impressive showings versus the Great Lakes Loons.

CAM SCHUELKE, RHP

Schuelke had an efficient series versus Great Lakes this past week.

The right-hander tossed three combined scoreless innings in two appearances out of the Lake County bullpen, allowing just one hit and one walk, striking out two. This included 1.1 perfect innings of relief on Sunday, May 10.

Schuelke has quickly become one of the most dominant bullpen arms in the Midwest League this season. The 24-year-old has logged a remarkable 0.63 ERA in his first 10 relief appearances of the year, permitting just one earned run in 14.1 innings pitched. Among Midwest League relievers with at least 14 innings pitched, his 0.63 ERA is tied for the league lead, while his 0.98 WHIP ranks tied for sixth.

Schuelke is also one of the most entertaining pitchers to watch in all of Minor League Baseball, as he can throw his entire pitch mix from three different arm angles: overhand, sidearm, and submarine. This variety of deliveries has helped him limit opposing hitters to a .188 batting average against him so far this season.

Schuelke was selected by the Cleveland Guardians in the 19th round of the 2024 MLB Draft out of Mississippi State. The Dorr, Michigan native was an integral part of the Single-A Lynchburg Hillcats' (now Hill City Howlers') 2025 Carolina League Championship run last year, earning a pair of saves during the Carolina League Playoffs. This included a six-out save in the winner-take-all Game 3 of the 2025 Carolina League Championship Series at Columbia (Single-A, Royals). He was eventually assigned to Lake County's 2026 Opening Day roster.

JEFFREY MERCEDES, INF

Mercedes had an impactful series at the plate versus Great Lakes this past week.

In four games played, the switch hitter batted .273 (3-for-11) with one home run, four RBI, one walk, a .545 slugging percentage, and a .930 OPS.

Mercedes made Captains history on Thursday, May 7 in Game 1 of a doubleheader.

In a game originally scheduled for seven innings, Lake County trailed 13-12 with one out in the bottom of the eighth and runners on first and second. The 21-year-old stepped up to the plate as a pinch hitter and delivered for the Captains, blasting a walk-off, three-run home run to win the game. This marked Lake County's first pinch-hit, walk-off home run since 1B/LF Jonathan Engelmann hit a pinch-hit, walk-off solo shot versus West Michigan on June 23, 2019.

The Azua, Dominican Republic native is off to a strong start to begin the month of May, batting .263 (5-for-19) with two home runs, five RBI, a .579 slugging percentage, and a .913 OPS in six games played so far this month.

Mercedes was signed by the Cleveland Guardians as an international free agent on Jan. 15, 2022. After being promoted to the Captains from Single-A Lynchburg (now Hill City) on Aug. 11, 2025, he tallied eight hits, one triple, two home runs, and six RBI in 13 games for Lake County last season.

The Captains will begin a six-game road series against the Dayton Dragons on Tuesday, May 12, with first pitch for the series opener scheduled for 7:05 p.m. from Day Air Ballpark in Dayton. The series will be broadcast on the Bally Sports Live App, 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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Midwest League Stories from May 11, 2026


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