Lake County Captains Announce 2026 Opening Day Roster
MWL Lake County Captains

Lake County Captains Announce 2026 Opening Day Roster

Published on March 31, 2026 under Midwest League (MWL)
Lake County Captains News Release


EASTLAKE, Ohio - In conjunction with the Cleveland Guardians, the Lake County Captains today announced their Opening Day roster for the 2025 season.

16 players on the Captains' initial roster return from the 2025 campaign, while 16 are newcomers to Lake County. Of the Captains' 16 new arrivals, 12 of them ended last season as members of the 2025 Single-A Carolina League Champion Lynchburg Hillcats (now Hill City Howlers).

Six of Cleveland's MLB Pipeline Top 30 prospects headline Lake County's roster to begin the 23rd season of Captains Baseball. This group is comprised of: RHP Braylon Doughty (No. 8), OF Jace LaViolette (No. 9), OF Jaison Chourio (No. 12), INF Dean Curley (No. 14), OF Aaron Walton (No. 19), and 1B/OF Nolan Schubart (No. 28).

Doughty was selected by the Guardians with the 36th overall pick (Competitive Balance Round A) of the 2024 MLB Draft out of Chaparral High School (CA). The 20-year-old excelled in his pro debut campaign with Single-A Lynchburg in 2025, logging a 3.48 ERA with 99 strikeouts (fourth in Carolina League) to just 23 walks in 85.1 innings pitched during the regular season. The right-hander ended up missing the Carolina League Playoffs due to a shoulder injury.

LaViolette, who has yet to make his professional debut, was the Guardians' first-round pick in the 2025 MLB Draft out of Texas A&M. The two-time Dick Howser Trophy Semifinalist brings tremendous power to Lake County, as his 68 career home runs for the Aggies are the most in Texas A&M program history. He also helped guide the Aggies to a National Runner-Up finish as a sophomore in 2024.

Of these six players, Chourio is the only returner to Lake County from a season ago. The younger brother of Milwaukee Brewers OF Jackson Chourio, Jaison batted .235 with 67 hits, 6 doubles, 2 home runs, 24 RBI, and 9 stolen bases in 79 regular-season games for the Captains in 2025. And despite missing over a month due to a shoulder injury, his 66 walks led Lake County and ranked ninth in the Midwest League.

Curley was Cleveland's second-round pick in the 2025 MLB Draft out of Tennessee. After playing in nine regular-season games for Single-A Lynchburg last season, the 21-year-old's 5 RBI, 2 doubles, 1 triple, and 3 extra-base hits were tied for the most in the Carolina League Playoffs, as he batted .304 in five postseason games. In 2024, he was Tennessee's starting shortstop as a freshman and helped the Volunteers win their first-ever National Championship while playing for now-San Francisco Giants Manager Tony Vitello.

Walton was selected by the Guardians with the 66th overall pick (Competitive Balance Round B) in the 2025 MLB Draft out of Arizona. The 21-year-old played in 15 regular-season games for Single-A Lynchburg last season, batting .238 with 15 hits, 5 doubles, 1 home run, 9 RBI, and 6 stolen bases. He then logged 4 RBI during the 2025 Carolina League Playoffs.

Schubart was Cleveland's third-round pick in the 2025 MLB Draft out of Oklahoma State. The 21-year-old played in 15 regular-season games for Single-A Lynchburg last year, batting .255 with 13 hits, 2 doubles, 3 home runs, 7 RBI, 15 walks, and an .895 OPS. Also, his 2 doubles and 3 extra-base hits were tied for the most in the Carolina League Playoffs, and he was one of seven Carolina League players to homer in the postseason.

The Captains bring back eight pitchers: LHP Luis Flores, RHP Jogly García, LHP Jackson Humphries, LHP Michael Kennedy, LHP Izaak Martinez, RHP Xavier Martinez, RHP Sean Matson, and LHP Rafe Schlesinger. The other eight pitchers joining Lake County for the first time are: RHP Justin Campbell, LHP Franklin Gómez, LHP Melkis Hernández, RHP Logan McGuire, RHP Cam Schuelke, RHP Kendeglys Virguez, RHP Cam Walty, and LHP Donovan Zsak.

Campbell was selected by the Guardians with the 37th overall pick (Competitive Balance Round A) of the 2022 MLB Draft. The right-hander, however, has yet to make his pro debut due to multiple arm surgeries. Gómez was acquired by Cleveland this past January from the New York Mets in exchange for international bonus pool money.

The Captains also have seven additional position players returning to Lake County from last season: C/INF Kevin Rivas, C Bennett Thompson, 1B/3B Maick Collado, INF Garrett Howe, INF Jeffrey Mercedes, OF Ryan Cesarini, and OF Esteban González. The other three position players set to make their Lake County debuts are C Logun Clark, INF Luke Hill and INF Anthony Silva.

Among qualified full-season hitters, Thompson led the Guardians Player Development System with a .275 batting average across Single-A Lynchburg and Lake County during the 2025 regular season. González, a member of the Captains' 2024 Midwest League Championship team, ranked second in the Midwest League with 28 doubles during the 2025 regular season.

The Captains will begin their 2026 season with a three-game home series against the 2025 Midwest League Champion West Michigan Whitecaps. First pitch for Lake County's season opener is scheduled for Thursday, April 2 at 6:35 p.m. from Classic Auto Group Park in Eastlake. The game will be broadcast on the Bally Sports Live App, MiLB.com, and StreamGuys, with social media coverage courtesy of @LCCaptains on X and Instagram.

Tickets for Lake County's 66 regular-season home games are on sale now at MiLB.com/lake-county.

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