St. Louis Cardinals prospect Tekoah Roby came back swinging in the Arizona Fall League on Friday, and the right-hander looked every bit like a pitcher who hadn’t spent the last year away from game action.
Roby, who missed the entire 2026 season while recovering from Tommy John surgery in 2025, worked three hitless innings in his first outing since July 10, 2025. He struck out six, allowed one walk, and needed just 40 pitches, 30 of them strikes, to get through the appearance.
His stuff showed up in a big way, too. Roby’s fastball lived in the upper-90s and touched 99 miles per hour, a strong sign after such a long layoff.
The pitch mix also drew attention, with his curveball and the vertical separation between his fastball and changeup standing out. His sinker showed a notable shift as well, averaging 5.2 inches of IVB compared with 9.1 inches of IVB in 2025.
For Cardinals fans, the outing was exactly the kind of update they wanted. Roby is currently St.
Louis’ No. 14 prospect, but that number doesn’t tell the whole story. He was as high as No. 3 in the system back in 2024, and before the injury wiped out his 2026 season, he had put together a strong year on the mound.
In Double-A, Roby made 10 starts and posted a 2.49 ERA across 47 innings. That performance earned him a move to Triple-A, where he made six starts and finished with a 4.02 ERA before getting hurt.
His Triple-A line got better as he settled in, too. After two rough starts to open that stint, he turned in a 0.86 ERA over his final four outings, covering 21 innings.
That’s why the Cardinals are watching this rebound so closely. If Roby keeps building from Friday’s performance and arrives at Spring Training fully stretched out, he could put himself in the mix for a 2027 rotation spot. He was that good before the injury, and if things had broken differently, he might even have reached the majors in 2025.
For now, though, the important part is simpler: Roby’s return went well, and the Cardinals have to like what they saw.
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