PEORIA, Ariz. -- Oscar Colas has 11 hits in 27 at-bats during his first big league Spring Training, and his latest might be the most memorable.

Colas, ranked by MLB Pipeline as the No. 2 White Sox prospect and No. 85 overall, connected for his first Cactus League home run Saturday afternoon as a pinch-hitter in the ninth inning of a 6-5 loss to the Padres. Colas’ one-out blast off Drew Carlton cleared the fence in right by a significant margin.

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“As soon as I hit it, I knew it was gone,” said Colas through interpreter Billy Russo.

Colas said the home run felt different than his previous nine singles and one double.

“Yeah, of course. Way different,” Colas said. “It feels like, ‘Wow, I did it.’”

At 24, Colas entered White Sox camp as the favorite to be the starting right fielder for the 2023 season and beyond. His strong showing in Arizona solidified that status.

White Sox manager Pedro Grifol has praised Colas’ approach and work ethic, but he also has quickly corrected mistakes by the rookie with his staff. Even if Colas gets that starting nod, development certainly won’t stop upon his Major League arrival.

“I’ll say it over and over again. There’s development going on in the big leagues,” Grifol said. “If this industry or any of us think that that’s not the case, we are doing ourselves a disservice because in reality we are all developing. These kids get up here quick, so we have to continue to develop them.”

Said Colas: “You always have stuff to improve: hitting-wise, defensive-wise. There's always stuff you have to work on to get better, to improve. That's why I'm here. I know I still have plenty of room to learn. Thanks to them, I'm doing that.”

The home run Saturday has to be the first of many for Colas, even if he’s not trying to hit homers.

“As I said before, I was just trying to feel comfortable in the batter's box, trying to get into my rhythm,” Colas said. “I wasn't looking for homers before. It just happened this time, but I'm feeling very comfortable in the batter's box right now.”