Back in November, the Milwaukee acquired outfielder Ramon Flores from the Seattle Mariners in exchange for Luis Sardinas. At first glance, that move seemed inconsequential enough — one fringe major leaguer for another. But Flores’ minor-league track record suggests he may not always be inconsequential. He hit a strong .308/.401/.454 as a 23-year-old in Triple-A last year and a respectable .247/.339/.443 at the same level in 2014. That was enough to put him 24th on KATOH’s pre-season top 100 list. Due to his underwhelming tools, however, most scouts thought he was, at best, a fourth outfielder.

Flores also came with a logistical caveat: since he was out of options, he couldn’t be sent to the minor leagues without passing through waivers. It was far from obvious that Flores was up for the challenge of facing big-league pitching. Not only did he lack physicality and experience, but he was also recovering from a compound ankle fracture suffered last August. Nonetheless, the Brewers granted Flores a spot on their opening-day roster after he showed he was healthy in spring training. Early on, that decision looked somewhat questionable. In semi-regular playing time, Flores strung together several 0-fers in April, which contributed to an embarrassing .125/.205/.125 stat line through April 28th.

Flores has picked up the pace since then, and has actually hit respectably in recent weeks. He’s slashed .286/.368/.347 (92 wRC+) since May 3rd, including his first career homer off of Jacob deGrom. In addition to his offensive exploits, he’s also flashed some leather in the outfield. Here’s an illustration of Flores’ offensive improvement.

Most notably, Flores’ strikeout and walk numbers have converged. Near-equal strikeout and walk rates were a hallmark of Flores’ minor-league days, so it’s encouraging that he’s starting to do that in the majors as well.

Milwaukee deserves some kudos for sticking with their guy. The small-sample stats confirmed the scouting consensus on the 24-year-old, but the Brewers kept trotting him out there. Of course, their position on the win curve made Flores’ early struggles much easier to swallow. The Brewers aren’t going anywhere this season, which puts them in a position to throw a bunch of fringy players against the wall to see what sticks. It’s still early to say whether Flores will stick as an everyday player, let alone as a fourth outfielder. But he isn’t sliding down the wall as quickly as he was six weeks ago.