After missing regular season, Roby leads crop of Cardinals in Arizona Fall League

The Cardinals farm system was defined by its depth, built up through positive development from stars in the system, breakouts galore, a strong 2026 Draft class and notable Trade Deadline acquisitions. But when considering how to rank a system that felt like it was growing in talent by the month, one piece of feedback was always consistent:

Don't forget about Tekoah Roby.

A Deadline pickup himself from the Rangers in 2023, Roby looked like he was headed toward a Major League debut last year at last after being limited by shoulder injuries, only to tear the UCL in his right elbow and undergo Tommy John surgery in late July that wiped him out for all of the 2026 regular season. The timing worked out in the 25-year-old right-hander's recovery and rehab that he lined up for a spot with Peoria in the Arizona Fall League, and speaking about where he now stood in that process, he was succinct in his response.

"It's about as good as it can be," he said.

The real test will come Friday, when the No. 14 Cardinals prospect is slated to make his Javelinas debut -- he also made five starts for Scottsdale in AFL action three years ago -- but the fact that Roby has put himself in place to pitch at all this calendar year should be good news to St. Louis fans everywhere.

This was already Roby's second year on the 40-man roster, having been added for Rule 5 protection in November 2024, and depending on how his stuff looks in the desert and if his health holds up in the winter, he could be back in line for a Major League opportunity by the first half of next year. Prior to the injury, his two most promising pitches were an 80-83 mph curveball and upper-80s slider that could befuddle hitters from his high slot release. By comparison, his four-seamer (which sat in the mid-90s), sinker and curveball were more touchable, but he could limit walks with the full arsenal, issuing only 19 in 78 1/3 innings between Double-A Springfield and Triple-A Memphis in 2025.

That accuracy will be front of mind in Arizona.

"Honestly, one thing that I was really able to work on was command," Roby said. "I hope that the stuff comes back, but in order to be a good pitcher and not have to rely on that, the command is such an important piece. So that was something that I was able to really work on. I mean, you throw for six months straight -- just catch play -- so it's a lot of reps to be intentional with trying to hit spots, being athletic, moving around. So that's something that to this point has been an improvement."

The downtime also gave Roby more time to study under the player-development techniques that have changed over the years since Chaim Bloom, Rob Cerfolio and Larry Day have overseen the department from the St. Louis front office, and he’s bought in.

"Obviously velo and stuff, it's important. It can be a great tool," Roby said, "but there are other things that can separate pitchers. I think that that's something that I've really attached to … the things that aren't necessarily related to that -- like execution, winning the race of 2K [two strikes], controlling counts, put-away efficiency, like just being an efficient pitcher.

"I think they do a really good job of blending the two sides of pitching."

Expressing excitement about such concepts is one thing, delivering on their value is another, and Roby can't actually do that until he returns to game action for the first time since July 10, 2025. The AFL -- and the chance to do that now rather in spring -- was an opportunity that made him rethink a more typical start to the offseason.

"I think initially I was like, 'I just kind of wanna go home, to be completely honest,'" Roby said. "But the idea of competing again really did obviously excite me. I feel like if you ask anybody here if they wanna go compete, they're gonna say they're gonna be excited."

Cardinals hitters in the Fall League

Tai Peete, OF (No. 17): Acquired from the Mariners in last offseason’s Brendan Donovan trade, Peete missed significant time this summer due to illness but found success when he was on the field, finishing with a .296/.356/.549 line, 13 homers and 16 steals in 66 games between High-A Peoria and Double-A Springfield. He trimmed his strikeout rate from 30.6 percent in 2025 to 26.9 this season, while also streamlining his quality of contact by cutting his infield popups in half and doing more to hit the ball hard on a line. Peete has 20-20 upside as a center fielder, so long as the contact holds up at higher levels.

Sammy Hernandez, C/1B: Hernandez began the year as High-A Peoria’s No. 2 catcher behind phenom Rainiel Rodriguez, but after Rodriguez’s promotion to Double-A Springfield, the 5-foot-9 backstop took on a more central role and flourished, finishing with a .279/.411/.529 line, 11 homers and 21 steals across 65 games in the Midwest League. His 140 wRC+ was third-best in the system behind Rodriguez’s 150 and Miguel Hernández’s 146. An extreme pull hitter from the right side, Hernandez cut down on some of his swing aggression and nearly doubled his previous career homer high of six in the process.

Cade McGee, INF/C: The 2024 ninth-rounder out of Texas Tech almost doubled his homer output from nine with Single-A Palm Beach in ‘25 to 17 at High-A and Double-A in ‘26, while producing a .232/.373/.456 line and 115 wRC+ between the two spots. McGee has typically moved around the dirt in his early days as a pro but also made 24 starts behind the plate this season.

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Cardinals pitchers in the Fall League

Nate Dohm, RHP: Dohm was picked up from the Mets last year as part of a deal for Ryan Helsley but couldn’t quite find success in a variety of roles (starter, multi-inning reliever, single-inning reliever) in his first full season with St. Louis, finishing with a 7.49 ERA, 64 strikeouts and 40 walks in 59 1/3 innings with Peoria before getting one late-season cameo with Springfield. He flashed some good velo in his AFL debut on Monday, touching 97.3 mph, and flashed a low-90s cutter and mid-80s slider, but he walked three of his batters faced.

Frank Elissalt, RHP: Another acquisition from the Mets in the Helsley deal, Elissalt suffered a hip injury in his first spring with the Cardinals, was placed on the 60-day IL in March and never appeared for an affiliate this summer. The now-24-year-old right-hander could sit in the mid-90s with a pair of fastballs and generate whiffs with a gyro slider and sweeper before the trade.

Joseph King, RHP: King pitched for Great Britain in the 2023 World Baseball Classic and threw 98 2/3 innings that summer between Single-A and High-A. He's managed only 40 frames in the three seasons since, affected primarily by Tommy John surgery that limited him in both '25 and '26. He returned to game action in mid-June and had a 4.50 ERA with 23 strikeouts in 18 frames afterwards, showing two fastballs around 92-95 mph and an upper-80s changeup that generated a ton of empty swings.

Nolan Sparks, RHP: The 2024 13th-rounder out of the University of Rochester was still pitching bulk outings for Peoria by late May before switching to a more traditional bullpen role. After earning a promotion to Springfield in July, he struck out 34.6 percent of the Texas League batters he faced and had a 2.79 ERA over 17 appearances. Sparks showed off a fastball up to 97.3 mph in his AFL debut on Sunday while also showing a slider, cutter and curveball from a kinetic, closed-off delivery.

Michael Watson, LHP: Another pure reliever, Watson won't blow anyone away with a 91-94 mph fastball, but he can be tough to read out of a low three-quarters delivery and generated whiff rates above 30 percent with both his heater and sweeping slider (per Synergy) in 2026. The 24-year-old southpaw spent the full season with Springfield and finished with a 4.96 ERA and 72 strikeouts in 52 2/3 innings with the Texas League club.