Athlete Of The Week: Angel Cervantes

HARWICH – Chatham right-hander Angel Cervantes was one of the lucky ones.

Just two pitchers managed to see the field for the East Division before rain ended the 2026 Cape Cod Baseball League All-Star Game at Whitehouse Field last Saturday. The rest, eight of them, plus nine position player reserves on the bench, saw no game action. 

But Cervantes (UCLA) got the starting nod for the East and, as a result, can say he was not only just named an All-Star this summer but actually played in the abbreviated, unofficial game — which was suspended, then cancelled entirely due to weather (his Anglers teammate Max Luzarraga was the other East arm to step on the mound).

Cervantes struck out two in the one inning, only surrendering a seeing-eye base hit that bounced through the left side of the infield.

“It was awesome,” he said. “So much talent on one field. It's always good to face good competition, and yeah, I'm glad I did pretty good.”

Cervantes was a rightful All-Star starting pitcher. He’s thrown 18 and two-thirds innings to the tune of a 0.48 earned run average and a 1.018 WHIP on the Cape. He’s struck out 20 and walked five.

He’s also still 18 years old, more than two years younger than the Cape League’s average age (according to Baseball Reference data). 

Even so, he clearly doesn’t shy from the spotlight. He specifically requested to start Chatham’s home game on the Fourth of July, and he wanted to start the All-Star Game (of which the opportunity to do so arose, according to Cervantes, after Yarmouth-Dennis left-hander and presumptive starter Andrew Wright departed the Cape to sign with the San Diego Padres).

Cervantes was drafted out of high school last year by the Pittsburgh Pirates with the 50th overall pick but opted to head to collegiate baseball. It was a decision that made headlines, but with his precocious success this summer, Cervantes has proven he’s remained on his best trajectory.

“It just feels nice, putting in the work, not just on the field but off the field as well, and it's finally showing, and I feel like everyone's starting to see it,” he said. “And that's all I'm trying to do is just get better and better every game. That's why I came out here.”