Tekoah Roby’s comeback trail is heating up fast, and the Arizona Fall League has given the Cardinals something to dream on for 2027.
The right-hander has been lights-out in his first game action since July 2025, piling up 9.2 scoreless innings across three appearances for Peoria. He has struck out 13 hitters, while posting a 0.72 WHIP and a .171 batting average against. Wednesday’s four-inning outing only added to the buzz, with MLB Pipeline noting that Roby extended his scoreless streak to 9 2/3 innings.
Roby, 25, spent the back half of 2025 and all of 2026 recovering from Tommy John surgery, and that long layoff has clearly pushed people to forget how strong he looked before the injury. At Memphis, he made 16 starts and delivered a 3.10 ERA with 87 strikeouts in 78.1 innings.
He finished that season on a serious roll, throwing a 0.86 ERA over his final four starts and 21 innings. That run was good enough that The Athletic’s Keith Law said he was considering placing Roby inside his top 60 prospects in the game.
Now, the stuff is showing up again. His fastball has been sitting in the mid-to-upper 90s, and the life on it is making his hammer curveball even tougher to pick up.
He’s also carrying an above-average to plus slider, and his changeup may be trending toward above-average too. The command still has to keep coming, but the full package is there for a pitcher who looks capable of being more than just a rotation filler.
That’s why the Cardinals are watching this so closely. Roby has the kind of upside that could put him near the front of a big league rotation, and St.
Louis hasn’t had that kind of internal arm in a while. He joins recently debuted pitchers like Quinn Mathews and Cooper Hjerpe as part of a wave that could reshape the staff quickly.
There will likely be some built-in limits in 2027 because of the surgery recovery, and the Cardinals may need to manage his workload carefully. A piggyback setup with Hjerpe is one option, giving both pitchers regular innings while taking a little pressure off the bullpen. Or the club could let them work more like standard starters and then taper things down late in the year, similar to what they did with Kyle Leahy.
Either way, the system has more coming. Liam Doyle, Tanner Franklin, Jurrangelo Cijntje, Brandon Clarke, and Jacob Odle are part of the next group, with Mason Molina, Ixan Henderson, Braden Davis, and others also in the mix.
Roby, though, is the name that can change the conversation the quickest. If his AFL momentum carries into 2027, he has a chance to become one of the best starters in the Cardinals rotation almost immediately.
Put that alongside a full season of Mathews, whatever role Hjerpe settles into, and the arrival of other arms later on, and St. Louis could go from solid to legitimately intimidating by the end of 2027.
That’s the real value in Roby’s rise. He’s not just another prospect getting attention again.
He could alter the ceiling of the whole pitching staff and help shift how the Cardinals are viewed going into 2028. His name may feel new to some fans after the injury pause, but the excitement around him was never really gone.
It was just waiting for him to get back on the mound.
In Other News...
Cardinals May Finally Have The Rotation Fans Have Been Waiting For
For most of the last several seasons, the Cardinals have spent far too much time trying to piece together a rotation that was good enough rather than one that could truly change games. From 2020 through 2026, that group sat in the middle-to-lower tier of the league, with a 4.34 ERA that reflected the broader issue in St. Louis: a lack of pitchers who could consistently miss bats or give the staff a real ceiling. It was serviceable more often than not, but it rarely felt like the kind of rotation that could carry the team through a long summer.
The outlook for 2027 looks different, and for Cardinals fans that alone is worth watching closely. Kyle Leahy, Quinn Mathews, Andre Pallante and Michael McGreevy are part of a younger, more dynamic mix, with more prospect help on the way behind them. There will probably be some uneven stretches as those arms settle in, but the appeal is obvious - the strikeout potential and overall competitiveness could be better than what St. Louis has lived with for years, and that alone marks a meaningful shift. [Read more 🡒]
Cardinals Are Eyeing World Series Help But One Reality Could End It
With the World Series about to begin, the Cardinals have another layer of scouting to do while the rest of the league watches the fall classic unfold. Three players on the field this week, Nick Martinez, Antonio Senzatela and Jorge Mateo, could all be on St. Louis' radar for 2027, giving the front office a chance to evaluate potential depth additions against the highest level of competition.
The appeal is obvious: Martinez offers pitching versatility, Senzatela brings a different look on the mound and Mateo adds speed and defensive flexibility. Still, St. Louis has made clear it prefers to build from within, which means any pursuit of outside help will have to fit both the roster and the budget. The bigger question is whether those free agents become real targets once the offseason moves from speculation to action. [Read more 🡒]
Cardinals Fans Can Lock In Busch Stadium Access Earlier Than Usual
The Cardinals are giving fans a head start on planning for Busch Stadium in 2027, with ticket packs for the regular season now on sale. The early offering includes a fixed 10-game Opening Day Pack, along with Flex Packs that let buyers choose 5, 10 or 15 games, and the team is pitching the move as a way to lock in seats at discounted prices.
For fans who like to map out their baseball calendar well in advance, it is a straightforward way to secure some of the better dates on the schedule before the rush starts. Single-game tickets and the rest of the ballparks ticket options will not open up until Nov. 5, 2026, which leaves a long runway for anyone trying to get ahead of the usual scramble. [Read more 🡒]