Nicholas Minnix: Hello, folks, and welcome. I’ll be with you at the top of the hour!

Comment From Matt
Do you think Maikel Franco has turned it around over the past month? Still someone to be excited about?

Nicholas Minnix: He’s kind of slowly turned it around, period, I’d say. Yes, still.

Comment From AL Pitching Coach
Hi Nicholas. Hope you had a great week! In an AL-only league, any worries starting Gausman @ Cubs, Smyly @ Jays and Gray vs. Angels today? Thanks!!!

Nicholas Minnix: Thanks, you too! Generally speaking, I wouldn’t worry. Having said that, Smyly and Gray face two of the top MLB offenses. Having said THAT, if those teams are susceptible to one arm more than another, then it’s the type they face today. This is more of a “where are you in the standings?” question. In general, esp. in AL league, I’d throw the guys I’ve been riding all year, as you likely have with them.

Eno Sarris: Be here now. Also, I’ll be here soon.

manofonetitle:

Comment From Billy Beane
Is something wrong with Sonny Gray?

Eno Sarris: Nah. Wasn’t a mid-twos ERA guy. The change has graduated to okay but isn’t great.

Comment From American League Hustle
Assuming he can remain a full-time regular, prediction on Mookie Betts, both ROS and 2015?

Eno Sarris: I think he’s probably a .275/7/20 true talent guy right now, but next year I think if he can get out of the bottom of the order, .280+/10/30 is possible.

Neil Weinberg: Hey everyone, I’ll be here at 3pm to talk about our advanced stats, our features, our site, and anything else about baseball you’re interested in discussing. Fantasy and prospect questions are fine, but you’re better off asking people who know about those things.

I’m the Site Educator here, so if you’re looking to learn about stuff, that’s what this is for. I imagine we’ll have some fun Alex Gordon-Jeff Passan-Dave Cameron defensive metrics-y stuff to discuss. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, you have thirty minutes to solve the puzzle!

Also, I’m @NeilWeinberg44 on Twitter, so follow me there and contact me that way if you have questions during the week.

Neil Weinberg: Hey! Let’s chat.

Neil Weinberg: I’ll be here until at least 4, but as usual, more questions = more chat! Math already, oh brother

Comment From dbet
When I search for team stats and sort by the “Off” category for runs, there are a significantly more negatives than positives. Why does it work out this way on a number based around average?

Neil Weinberg: One thing is pitchers, who are terrible. But mostly, -20, -20, and 40 average out to 0 even if there are more negatives

Comment From august
Hey Neil! It’s me, August Fagerstrom, FanGraphs author! What counts as a “defensive game” in UZR/150? I assumed nine innings but, in doing my own calculators, it appears to be slightly off. Any clue how UZR/150 is calculated?

Dave Cameron: I’m back for our regular Wednesday chat fest. You know the drill: queue is open, and we’ll start in 15 minutes.

Comment From Romelu Lukaku
White Sox beat writers (and broadcasters) are making it sound like Carlos Rodon will debut in September. Do you have any idea why they would start his service clock in a lost season?

Dave Cameron: Because there’s little real difference to giving him 25 days of service time. It’s not going to affect his arbitration or free agent eligibility.

Comment From Paul
Re Gordon article: I was surprised that you didnt mention replacement values. It is easier to shine when compared to left fielders than when you play CF so it affects the replacement value and hence the WAR

Dave Cameron: This simply isn’t true. Read the primer on positional adjustments in the FG Library.

Comment From Mike Nakamura
I was hoping you could explain something to me: The Blue Jays rank 12th in starters’s WAR, despite being in the 20th area of FIP. Is the difference there entirely due to park factors, or are there other factors I’m missing? I have read the fangraphs primer on pitching WAR and it was not clear to me.

Jeff Sullivan: This time wasn’t my fault! This time I couldn’t get the Cover It Live website to load!

Jeff Sullivan: Which, actually, could’ve been my fault somehow. But it wasn’t a deliberate act of tardiness.

Jeff Sullivan: So let’s talk about real baseball and not fantasy baseball unless by fantasy baseball you mean the slim odds of a White Sox 2014 division title

Comment From Andy
Lies

Jeff Sullivan: You’ll never know!

Comment From Guest
There are almost 200 million people in Brazil, why is baseball underdeveloped there?

Dan Szymborski: Party. Started

Dan Szymborski: First thing, our usual business.

:

Comment From Jolly Roger
If he continues on his current trajectory, when do you think Luis Severino joins the Yanks’ rotation? Any thoughts on floor/ceiling?

Dan Szymborski: He’s still very young – if he continues as he has, he’ll get some innings in the majors at the end of next year, I think, but the yankees aren’t usually super-aggressive

Comment From Dave
Is it time for the Jays to shut down Drew Hutchinson?

Nicholas Minnix: Hello, everyone! I’ll be with you at the top of the hour, as usual.

Nicholas Minnix: Gonna go ahead and get started. Hope to wrap not much past the hour today. Bring it.

Comment From Guest
I know you and Eno touched on it yesterday but are you ok with dropping a $13 Minor in 4×4 Otto, i have cheaper more effective options.

Nicholas Minnix: Yes.

Eno Sarris: I’ll be here soon. Here’s a song for no one.

Per Bolmstrand:

Comment From Lude for No One
Mike Trout has the longest dinger in 2014 per Hittracker. Wow.

Eno Sarris: I prefer dongers.

Comment From Kris
I’ve got Big Fern, Tanaka, and now Tulo on my bench (only one DL spot). Is it still worth rostering guys like McCarthy and running a platoon of Norris/Jaso at C, or has my replacement level gone down with the decrease of bench spots?

Eno Sarris: Tanaka may come back, so if you’re asking if you should drop anyone, my answer is no. You do need innings and PAs, so I think you’re doing fine.

Neil Weinberg: Hey all. We’ll get started at 3pm, but go ahead and fill up the queue now with any and all questions.

Remember that this chat is designed for questions about FanGraphs, our features, and our stats, but I’m more than happy to answer any other questions you have. Fantasy and prospect questions aren’t forbidden, but the answers don’t come with a money-back guarantee.

PS: I’m @NeilWeinberg44 if you’re reading this after the fact and have FG related inquiries. I mean, that’s also true if you’re reading it live…see you soon.

Neil Weinberg: Let’s get started. Reminder, I’ll definitely give you an hour, and I’ll run for two if you ask lots of good questions. This is a social contract, make the most of it.

Comment From Matt
What are some of the best ways to learn about the sabermetric stats and how to apply them to writing?

Neil Weinberg: Two general pieces of advice: 1) Go to leaderboards, find a stat you don’t know about, and then go look it up. We have lots of good and improving glossary entries here, and there are others (this is my job here, so you can always ask me to). 2) Read sites that make use of these stats. It’s sort of like learning a language and immersion is the way to go. If you see a post where Dave uses wOBA, you’re going to catch on…”hmmmm these guys seem to be using wOBA when talking about offense…that must be important.” Hang out on these types of sites and you’ll pick it up.

And ask questions! Always ask questions.

Comment From CStat Guy
For pitching RAR, FIP is used in the calculation. Is there a stat where a pitcher’s ERA is used to calculate a value above league average or replacement level? Thanks.

Neil Weinberg: We have a stat called RA9-WAR. You have to click to the “value” tab on the leaderboards/pages, but this is WAR based on the players RA9 (which is ERA without the unearned runs subtracted out).

Paul Swydan: Hi everybody, come back tonight at 9 pm ET, for the best baseball chat that is held at 9 pm ET on a Tuesday!

Paul Swydan: Hey guy!

Paul Swydan: Hey girl!

Paul Swydan: Hey …… horse?

Comment From Aaron Hicks
Are the Twins rushing Buxton by promoting him to AA after not dominating A ball?

Paul Swydan: I don’t think so. He’s now played 87 games there, which is more than he played at his previous two levels, and he hit .295/.380/.448 there. He did that at age 19 and 20. I’d say that’s pretty good.