Friday Morning Rangers Strikes

I just love this time of year. Projections , prospect rankings, and hope for a new season are all fresh on the minds of baseball fans everywhere.

• Katy Clarke of WFAA had part two of her look at Joey Gallo, focusing on his relationship with friend and mentor Jason Giambi. For his part, Giambi has been talked about in many circles as a future manager in the game, so it's nice that Gallo is getting in some work with a guy that is generally considered to be very baseball smart.
   
• Tim Cowlishaw says that, surprise, health will be more important than a new manager in determining the success of the Rangers in 2015.
   
• Michael Florek takes a look at projected payroll figures across baseball, with Texas coming in with the 7th-highest figure based on currently guaranteed figures.
   
• Tanner Scheppers is throwing again, and aiming to be a big piece of the bullpen this season.
   
• Jeff Sullivan of FanGraphs has a pretty interesting piece up on how pitch-framing -- or lack thereof -- in Texas may have contributed to his downfall as both a starter and a reliever in 2014.