Cardinals showing faith in this pitching prospect

This story was excerpted from John Denton’s Cardinals Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

Tekoah Roby -- not to be confused with Camp Tekoa in the North Carolina hills that served as inspiration for his differently spelled first name -- is still something of a mystery to a Cardinals club continuing to profess faith in the hard-throwing right-handed pitcher.

Roby, whom the Cardinals acquired at the Trade Deadline in 2023 along with infielder Thomas Saggese from the Rangers in a trade surrounding eventual World Series champion lefty Jordan Montgomery, was added to St. Louis’ 40-man roster on Tuesday even though he’s yet to throw a pitch at the Triple-A level.

The same can be said for fellow right-hander Tink Hence, who was among the four players that the Cards kept from being exposed in next month’s Rule 5 Draft with their roster additions. Protecting Hence, 22, was certainly a no-brainer as he is the No. 2-ranked player in the organization by MLB Pipeline and is considered one of baseball’s best young pitching prospects despite two oft-injured seasons.

As for Roby, 23, the Cardinals are still plenty curious as to what they have in the promising pitcher who hasn’t been able to avoid shoulder problems each of the past two seasons. He was ranked as high as No. 88 in MLB Pipeline's Top 100 Prospects list on MLB.com prior to the 2024 season, but after he was hit hard and ended the year injured again, he dropped off the Top 100 list.

Still, the Cardinals thought highly enough of Roby -- their No. 6 prospect -- to add him to their 40-man roster, where he will soon head to Spring Training with several shots coming his way to prove himself to the big league club.

“I was always kind of a late bloomer,” said Roby, who was tutored by former MLB pitcher Tim Spooneybarger and chose pro ball over a scholarship offer to play baseball at Troy (Ala.) University back in 2020. “I finally got some college interest after my sophomore year [of high school], and it wasn’t until going into my senior year that there were scouts showing interest and telling me I could pitch in the big leagues.

“I don’t actually remember the first time I really believed it myself. They were telling me, ‘You’re super talented’ and, ‘You can become something great,’ but I didn’t believe it until Draft night.”

As for his unique first name, Roby’s father, Sean, stumbled upon Camp Tekoa -- a wilderness camp for kids ages 7-17 -- while living and working near Asheville, N.C. He wanted his son to have a name that ended with a similar sound to that of brothers Ukaia and Jonah, so he changed the spelling to Tekoah.

“I was supposed to be named ‘Noah,’ but they saw the signs for Camp Tekoa, and liked that more,” Roby joked. “People ask me about my name all the time and it’s probably the question I get more than any. It’s cool when you have a unique name.”

Roby was a third-round pick of the 2020 MLB Draft by the Rangers, and he proceeded to back that up by posting big strikeout numbers over his first 2 1/2 seasons in the Minor Leagues. However, he injured his shoulder early in the 2023 season and was out of action when he learned the Cardinals had surprisingly dealt for him. He actually knew that Saggese was on the move first after the infielder had been scratched from the lineup earlier that day. Later, Roby learned that they were headed to the Cardinals together.

Changing organizations, Roby said, was made easier by having Saggese alongside him. The two had been inseparable friends since being drafted together in 2020 and meeting at a Rangers instructional league. As it turns out, they got to play together for just 18 days with the Double-A Springfield Cardinals as Roby needed more time to rehab his shoulder and Saggese -- who was later voted the Texas League MVP -- was promoted to Triple-A.

Roby finished 2023 on a strong note and the Cardinals thought so highly of him then that they sent him to the Arizona Fall League. But he pitched in pain much of 2024 for Springfield, where he allowed 10 home runs and had a 6.75 ERA over just 33 1/3 innings.

Roby’s hope, of course, is that he is past the pain, and he’ll pitch well enough to someday rejoin Saggese in St. Louis. The Cardinals have given him a pathway to do that by adding him to their 40-man roster. Regardless of what happens to him, Roby feels the Cards have a future star in Saggese.

“Thomas isn’t an egotistical person in any way at all, but because he works so hard, he’s allowed to have the confidence that he does on the baseball field,” Roby raved. “He gets so locked in and he’s great.”