6'5" lefty Nolan Roycraft is emerging as a sneaky-valuable bullpen weapon for Rice
In the 2026 season, Roycraft has already flashed swing-and-miss utility for Rice, including a three-strikeout debut against his first outing of the year and a clean, late-inning shutdown stretch that suggests he can handle leverage without blinking[2][4]. At 6-foot-5 with a left-handed delivery, he brings the kind of matchup angle coaches love, and Rice’s own notes plus recent game recaps show he’s been trusted to escape jams and strand inherited runners[4][14]. The upside pick: a tough, polished lefty who can stabilize the middle or late innings; the watch-out: he’s still building a fuller season sample after a limited 2026 workload[1][2].
