EASTLAKE, Ohio – For the week of June 2-7, Lake County is recognizing LHP Donovan Zsak and OF/2B Tommy Hawke as the 10th set of Captains of the Week for the 2026 season for their impressive showings against the Fort Wayne TinCaps.
DONOVAN ZSAK, LHP
Zsak did not allow a run in two relief appearances against Fort Wayne this past week.
The left-hander threw five strikeouts in four combined innings of work, earning his first hold of the season in a 3-2 Captains victory on Sunday, June 7.
On Wednesday, June 3, Zsak tied season-highs with three strikeouts and two innings of work out of the Lake County bullpen in a 17-7 Captains win, surrendering just two hits and walking one.
Four days later, the 22-year-old replicated his one hit and one walk allowed in two innings of relief, striking out a pair of TinCaps hitters.
Zsak has excelled in his last nine relief appearances, posting a 3-0 record with a 1.29 ERA and 19 strikeouts in 14 innings pitched out of the Captains bullpen. Among relievers with at least 14 innings pitched during this span, his 1.29 ERA and .146 opposing batting average rank third in the Midwest League, while his average of 12.21 strikeouts per nine innings ranks sixth.
Zsak was selected by the Cleveland Guardians in the eighth round of the 2024 MLB Draft out of Rutgers. The Scotch Plains, New Jersey native was assigned to Lake County’s 2026 Opening Day roster after spending the 2025 season with the Single-A Carolina League Champion Lynchburg Hillcats (now Hill City Howlers). He threw 43 strikeouts in 31 innings of work across 26 relief appearances for Lynchburg last year.
TOMMY HAWKE, OF/2B
Hawke had an impressive series at the plate at Fort Wayne this past week.
Batting leadoff in each of the Captains’ six games played, the left-handed hitter led High-A with nine walks and the Midwest League with a .606 on-base percentage, nine runs scored, and 10 hits (tied). He reached base in 20 of his 33 plate appearances, while leading Lake County with a .435 batting average and four stolen bases.
Hawke posted four multi-hit performances during this past week’s set, including a High-A-best three hits in an 11-8 Captains victory on Friday, June 5. He went 3-for-4 in the contest with an RBI triple, while drawing a pair of walks. The 23-year-old also logged a High-A-best three stolen bases in a 10-4 Captains win on Thursday, June 4 and tied his High-A-best with three walks in a 7-3 Captains victory on Saturday, June 6.
Hawke is currently on a 25-game on-base streak, tallying a .488 on-base percentage, a .293 batting average, 27 hits, 29 runs, 33 walks, and 16 stolen bases during this span. After beginning the 2026 campaign on the 7-day injured list with a shoulder injury, he was eventually activated for Lake County on April 30.
Hawke was selected by the Cleveland Guardians in the sixth round of the 2023 MLB Draft out of Wake Forest. He was promoted to the Captains from the 2025 Single-A Carolina League Champion Lynchburg Hillcats on June 23, 2025, where he led MiLB with 63 stolen bases and 65 runs scored in just 63 games played at the time of his promotion. He was eventually limited to just four games with Lake County last year before ending the season on the 60-day injured list due to a shoulder injury.
The Captains will begin a six-game home series versus the West Michigan Whitecaps on Tuesday, June 9, with first pitch for the series opener scheduled for 6:05 p.m. from Classic Auto Group Park in Eastlake. The series will be broadcast on the Rock Entertainment Sports Network (RESN), the Bally Sports Live App, the MiLB App, and StreamGuys, with social media coverage courtesy of @LCCaptains on X and Instagram.
About the Lake County Captains:
The Lake County Captains are the professional High-A Affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians located in Eastlake, Ohio. Our mission is to honor the rich history of our organization, while also introducing baseball to a new generation of fans through innovative means. We are committed to supporting our community, sports teams, and each other by demonstrating passion and having fun every day.