DOWNEY, Calif. – The challenge of being considered a Top 50 MLB draft pick during your senior year could be daunting for any high school senior, but for Angel Cervantes, the challenge has been as simple as focusing on the moment.
Cervantes, a right-handed pitcher from Warren High School and a UCLA baseball commit, said his focus this season has been to “Just have fun.”
“Honestly, I try to avoid the rankings and the draft stock, mock drafts, and all that,” Cervantes said. “I kinda just wanna do my thing, and since it’s my last season, I just wanna play hard for my guys. This is my last time playing with them. This is probably one of the closest teams I’ve been with.”
Ric Tapia – The Sporting Tribune
Angel Cervantes #99 of Warren High School poses for a portrait at Warren High School on May 22, 2025 in Downey, California.
A big reason why Cervantes believes this is one of the closest teams he’s been a part of dates back to the beginning of the season, when Warren traveled out to Arizona for a weekend tournament.
The Bears played a total of four games that weekend and they won all of them, giving them a 5-1 start to the season, instantly creating a team chemistry of good vibes for the season.
When Warren was out in Arizona, the team was constantly around each other. There were at least three players in a room together, so they were never alone, and they were constantly finding activities to do when they weren’t in the training room getting ready for the next day’s game.
Some of the activities included hanging out by the pool, going swimming, or playing football. Outside of the hotel, the team was also attending baseball games at Arizona State and were having dinners at local restaurants.
Standing at 6’2”, 185 pounds, there is good reason Cervantes has so much hype built around him. He has a fastball that hovers around 95 MPH, with a curveball touching 74, a slider at 82 MPH, and a changeup in the mid-70s.
Ric Tapia – The Sporting Tribune
Angel Cervantes #99 of Warren High School poses for a portrait at Warren High School on May 22, 2025 in Downey, California.
“Some of the strengths with Angel is he’s a perfectionist. I’m not kidding you,” Warren baseball coach Cesar Martinez said. “… He’s got great stuff, above average. I mean Major League stuff. He’s in the zone too much. He’s a strike-throwing machine.”
“So one of our goals this year was to kind of get him to pitch and learn how to tunnel his pitches and make them look like a like a strike until they weren’t a strike.”
While this year was filled with memories created alongside his teammates for years to come, on April 30, Cervantes would have the game of his young career by throwing his third career no-hitter against rival school Downey.
In that game, Cervantes was dialed in on the mound with his fastball reaching a new high of 97 MPH. He went a full seven innings, earning 16 strikeouts and giving up one walk.
“I think my curveball was probably the best pitch I had that game, and especially to top it off, my fastball, that’s the hardest I’ve ever thrown it.”
Before the game, Martinez said he brought Cervantes into his office to have a conversation about the game plan against Downey. The recipe the two came up with was utilizing his curveball away and down into the dirt.
His curveball resulted in six strikeouts. His slider was used in a similar fashion as well, and the rest of his strikeouts were compiled by his fastball overpowering batters.
“He texted me that same night and was like ‘Coach, we had a plan and we executed it.’ And I was like ‘That’s all you, dude.”
Ric Tapia – The Sporting Tribune
Angel Cervantes #99 of Warren High School poses for a portrait at Warren High School on May 22, 2025 in Downey, California.
Before this season, his curveball was used the least among his pitches, as Martinez noted that he was more of a slider, change-up, fastball pitcher.
During the summer, Cervantes worked on changing the grip of his curveball and on his control. After months of hard work, his curveball has become one of his best strikeout pitches.
“I would say my command with all of my pitches have gotten better ever since summer. I’ve been working really hard in trying to get my velo up, and it has been progress,” Cervantes said. “So I really enjoy what it’s been coming up to. So I feel like my command has been my strength for the season so far.”
In his next start after the no-hitter, Cervantes’ curveball showed up again, using it to strike out two of four batters at Fountain Valley. In that start, the Bears playoff aspirations were on the line. A win would send them to the CIF Southern Section playoffs. A loss would end their season.
Cervantes did his job, pitching three innings while giving up three hits. His curveball was the strikeout pitch for two of his four strikeouts that day.
Whenever he took the mound this season, the scouts followed, filling the bleachers, monitoring his every movement. Once his day on the rubber ended, the bleachers emptied with a game continuing on. The pressure of every moment you’re on the field can be intense for any young athlete.
Ric Tapia – The Sporting Tribune
Angel Cervantes #99 of Warren High School poses for a portrait at Warren High School on May 22, 2025 in Downey, California.
Martinez said that his pitcher’s pressure came both on and off the field.
Aside from dealing with scouts watching his performance, he was constantly in meetings talking with sports psychologists, financial advisors, and would sit in meetings with professional teams. Despite all that pressure, Martinez recalls him never complaining once.
“It can be overwhelming and it can definitely impact your day-to-day activities,” Martinez said. “That’s impressive for me. For a 17-year-old to handle and make decisions. I’m pretty sure that parents are helping him make the decisions or most of the decisions, but nonetheless, it’s a lot and it’s a lot for him, and I applaud him for that.”
“It probably benefited him being here. Getting away and kind of being able to be himself with his friends and his coaches and get after it and continue to do his thing.”
Ric Tapia – The Sporting Tribune
Angel Cervantes #99 of Warren High School poses for a portrait at Warren High School on May 22, 2025 in Downey, California.
Cervantes finished his season going 7-3 in 66 2/3 innings pitched with a 1.59 ERA, 106 strikeouts, and 4 complete games. He was chosen as the Gateway League Pitcher of the Year winner and is a finalist to be all CIF.
While Cervantes had a season he will never forget, he said that at times, he would overthink when he was on the mound and try not to psych himself out.
Some areas that he would worry about included constantly thinking about whether his mechanics were correct or trying to perfect where he wanted to place the ball in the strike zone.
“I just wanna have a free mind,” Cervantes said.