In the first MOD, I laid out my drafting philosophy and took a look at the potential first-rounders that might be available to the Rays. If you haven't read it yet, go check it out -- I'm still answering comments there.

I was persuaded by the commenters and by delving into scouting reports to take a pass on high-school shortstop Jacob Gatewood (Clovis HS, CA) due to questions about his hit tool. I currently show Gatewood as #20 on the consensus BPA spreadsheet; I'd be willing to take 17 of the guys ranked above him (excepting Jeff Hoffman and Max Pentecost). If those 17 players all go, I've narrowed our backup choices to Wichita State 1B Casey Gillaspie or RHP Sean Reid-Foley, a Florida high-schooler. So that's the first round.

In this MOD, I thought I'd solicit opinions on guys who might be available for the Rays picks in round 2 (pick #61) and in the compensatory round (pick 73). Here are some of those guys:

Dylan Cease, RHP -- throws 100mph and was a top-20 pick before he got hurt. Is his arm too good to pass up at #61? Probably won't be here and will save us the heartache, but it's worth knowing whether we'd go there. My gut says yes. Oh, and he's also a Vandy commit and rumored to be a tough sign.

Sam Travis, 3B -- Indiana's 3B; might be headed for 1B in the long term. An easy sign if the Rays take a tough sign in the 1st; obviously you'd have to believe in the bat a lot if you think Travis is a first baseman.

Josh Morgan, SS -- toolsy high-school shortstop; scouting reports seem to indicate he can stay at the position. Below-average power. The Rays have a lot of guys like this in the low minors.

Keith Weisenberg, RHP -- local (Tampa) kid; big arm with spotty performance this spring and is probably headed to Stanford. Still, this is the kind of kid you could easily see the Rays draft for real.

Bryce Montes de Oca, RHP -- Already had TJ surgery as a 16-year-old. On the plus side, he's one of the youngest prep pitchers in this draft at a young 18; he's already 6'7"-6'8" and 265+ pounds. Sits mid-90s and has hit 97.

I'm also a big fan of high-school arms Garret Fulenchek and Keaton McKinney although I project both to be gone before pick #61. One player I would not take is Rice RHP Zech Lemond; he's hit the avoid-trifecta for me as (a) a pitcher at Rice, (b) with a limited repertoire as a converted reliever, and (c) a scary injury history.

So those are some of my thoughts with Picks 61 and 73. Thoughts? Anyone else I should take a look at?