Cardinals pitching prospect who few are talking about but everyone will know soon

Tekoah Roby was arguably the greatest prize the St. Louis Cardinals picked up at the 2023 trade deadline, and he's finally putting together the kind of season that reflects his immense potential.

Acquired in the Jordan Montgomery and Chris Stratton trade alongside Thomas Saggese and John King, Roby was one of the most intriguing pitching prospects in the Texas Rangers organization, having the talent of a top 100 prospect in the game but struggling with a shoulder injury prior to being dealt to St. Louis. Health has continued to be an issue for Roby since coming to St. Louis, as he threw just 64 innings in his first year and a half with the organization prior to 2025.

But as Roby reported to spring training this year, something had clearly changed for the 23-year-old right-hander, and his growth as a starter should have Cardinals' fans paying close attention to his development moving forward.

Tekoah Roby looks the part of a potential front-line starter for the Cardinals, and he may be ready for St. Louis sooner than you'd think

Roby has described the last few years of his life as hitting "rock bottom", but after experiencing a spiritual revival this offseason, the right-hander became the talk of Cardinals' camp earlier on with his dynamic stuff and renewed confidence on the mound.

Cardinals' manager Oliver Marmol and the rest of the Major League staff took notice of Roby, as he consistently impressed the Cardinals' brass in bullpens, his work on the back fields, and the few opportunities he received in game action. The Cardinals wanted to continue Roby's development as a starter, sending him to Double-A Springfield to begin the year, a level he looks to have mastered this season.

In nine Double-A starts this year, Roby is 3-2 with a 2.68 ERA, striking out 49 batter in just 40.1 innings of work, and limiting baserunners with his 0.99 WHIP to go along with the dominant swing and miss stuff. Roby is cool, calm, and collected on the mound, and that showed with his eight strikeouts in 5.1 innings of shutout ball on Thursday night.

Roby's growth isn't just a guy getting better results this year as compared to years prior. Roby has done tremendous work with his arsenal over the last year, and it's all coming together to build a dynamic pitcher who has the potential to be a real problem for opposing hitters at the next level.

According to Kareem Haq, who does an excellent job covering Cardinals prospects on the Birds on the Farm podcast as well as his Twitter (@KareemSSN), Roby's fastball, which used to sit in the low 90s and touch the mid 90s occasionally now hits 96-97 MPH consistently with a 17-18" of IVB. It's a fastball that plays really well up in the zone, and you'll see that if you look up some Roby highlights from this season.

Roby has always sported a big curveball as his primary secondary, and it is a pitch he can use to steal a strike or put away batters late in counts. Along with the improved fastball, Roby has implemented a new mid-80s change-up with 900-1100 RPM and great depth to it, and he's sprinkling in a slider and sinker as needed. That slider has the potential to join the fastball, curveball, and slider as go-to pitches, as it gets up to 90 MPH and has good spin and horizontal action to it.

Last year, we saw the emergence of Andre Pallante as a true, homegrown back of the rotation option, Michael McGreevy knocking on the door with an even more intriguing profile than Pallante's, and Quinn Mathews, going from an interesting fourth round pick in 2024 to Minor League Pitcher of the Year and a top 50 prospect in baseball. In 2025, Matthew Liberatore has established himself as a legit big league starter and is pitching like a front-line guy right now, and Roby is breaking out as another high upside arm in the system.

As the saying goes, there isn't really such a thing as a "pitching prospect". You have to continue to cross your fingers that dynamic arms like Roby, Mathews, Liberatore, McGreevy, and others like Tink Hence and Cooper Hjerpe, stay healthy long-term. But if you're going to be on arms, you want to bet on ones with immense potential and incredible stuff. Roby looks to be one of those guys.

I would expect Roby to get called up to Memphis in the near future, and if he continues to pitch at a high level, he may be just a call away from impacting the Cardinals' pitching staff in a big way. I wouldn't bet on Roby being in St. Louis this year, but I also wouldn't rule it out. I do think what we are seeing right now further cements the potential of Roby being in their 2026 rotation, especially since he was added to their 40-man roster this past offseason.

If you're not paying much attention to Roby right now, you should change that. He may be the next big-time arm the Cardinals have to look forward to in their increasingly brighter-looking future.