Cardinals’ Tekoah Roby Opens Eyes With ‘Electric’ Arm
It was a week or so into major league spring training when Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol delivered praise for how 23-year-old righthander Tekoah Roby’s fastball caught coaches’ eyes almost as swiftly as it defied hitters.
“One of the most electric arms in camp,” Marmol said.
And then he dropped the caveat.
“If he’s healthy—really interesting arm.”
One of the prize acquisitions from St. Louis’ 2023 trade deadline fire sale, Roby was on the Double-A injured list at the time of his trade from the World Series-bound Rangers. He spent much of 2024 on the IL, too.
Entering this season, Roby had made just 14 starts for Cardinals affiliates system because of elbow and shoulder injuries. At spring training this year, some of the changes he has made were clear.
He added strength, adjusted his routines, focused on a regimen designed to maintain health and had not lost any zip on his fastball. The pitch touches 98 mph, and in bullpens his fastball had an elite vertical break of 20–21 inches.
“I’m a pitcher who is always going to have his fastball,” Roby said. “I like to attack hitters with it. It is a relentless attack of the zone.”
His snappy breaking ball drew praise in Grapefruit League games.
To prepare for 2025, Roby sought help from a training facility. He benefited from motion-capture tech of his delivery and a rethinking of his preparation. That includes limits on his throws between starts. And the early results were strong.
The Cardinals assigned Roby to Double-A Springfield on Opening Day, but they are open to him moving swiftly to the Triple-A Memphis rotation—or higher as a reliever. The Cardinals are focusing the season on player development and deployment.
Roby said he has the same-old fastball but completely new outlook.
“It came down to me not really feeling super confident in who I was,” he said of the interruptions for injuries. “What we did . . . was build a foundation. It’s like a true north. I can return to this. It’s peace of mind that this is who I am.”
REDBIRD CHIRPS
— Shortstop JJ Wetherholt, the seventh overall pick in last year’s draft out of West Virginia, began the season at Double-A Springfield after finishing last year at Low-A Palm Beach. He had a strong spring and impressed big league coaches with his approach away from the game. Cardinals evaluators expect him to be ahead of the level offensively as he plays both middle infield positions.
— Two of the Cardinals’ top pitching prospects, righthander Tink Hence and lefthander Cooper Hjerpe, began the season on the injured list. Hence began on the 60-day IL. Both pitchers have had various injuries abbreviate recent years, and the Cardinals want to approach their workload with caution as a result.
