CHICAGO – One week into Tim Elko’s MLB career, one thing has stood out.

He has serious power.

In the fifth inning of Saturday’s 7-3 loss to the Cubs at Wrigley Field, Elko drove Matthew Boyd’s fastball 425 feet over the right-center field wall. It left his bat with an exit velocity of 111.1 mph, tied for the 88th hardest-hit ball in MLB this season and second among White Sox, per Statcast. Elko said he takes pride in being able to hit the ball the other way.

“Got to a 3-1 count and was looking for something in the middle of the zone and got a pretty good pitch to hit and put a good swing on it,” Elko said.

Elko’s bleacher ball marked the second home run in his first 17 MLB at-bats. In his second big league game on Sunday against the Marlins, Elko broke a 1-1 tie with a three-run home run to left field in the sixth inning of the White Sox 4-2 win. That one wasn’t quite as deep or hard-hit – 381 feet at 101.4 mph – but it was certainly clutch.

Home runs from the 6-foot-3, 250-pound right-handed first baseman haven’t necessarily been a surprise to see since his promotion. After all, he led all minor league hitters with 10 home runs in his first 31 games with Triple-A Charlotte this season.

Elko was called up to do just that.

“He couldn’t have been doing any better in Charlotte. He’s a guy that obviously he has power,” White Sox general manager Chris Getz said before Friday’s game. “There were some indicators in this season that there is more consistency in regards to squaring up the baseball. His max exit velocity was up. His barrel percentage was up. We felt like it was a decent time to inject him into the lineup.”

Following Saturday’s game, Elko had hit a home run once every 8.5 at-bats, a staggering number. For some historical perspective, Mark McGwire is MLB’s all-time leader in at-bats per home run at 10.61, and Aaron Judge is second at 11.31. Elko’s number is inflated due to the tiny sample size, and it’s highly unlikely he maintains that pace.

But it’s a good place to start.

“Feel pretty good, feel comfortable,” Elko said. “Having a lot of fun playing with these guys. Trying to go out and win games. It’s been fun so far.”

Elko has played four games at first base and two as the designated hitter. The plan all along has been to have Elko and Andrew Vaughn in the lineup together on most days and for both to log time at first base and designated hitter, with off days mixed in.

Vaughn hit a home run on Elko’s debut on May 10, the beginning of a four-game stretch that also included four hits, two doubles, three RBI. Getz noted Vaughn has come alive a bit lately, though he had been hitting the ball hard all season and getting unlucky with the location of those hits at times.

The White Sox would like Elko and Vaughn to provide power in the middle of the order. Although neither plays a defensive position besides first base, they can utlitize the designated hitter spot to keep both in the lineup.

On Thursday in Cincinnati, Venable made sure to point out that the White Sox don’t have to choose between one or the other.

“Obviously there’s this narrative of like Elko versus Vaughn, which I don’t – I understand, but that’s just not the case,” Venable said. “And I don’t know if he feels that or not. I was transparent with [Vaughn] when we were bringing Elko up to give him a heads up that it was happening, and it was not an Elko versus Vaughn thing.”

There’s still room for Elko to grow, like any rookie, and pitchers will get a better scouting report on him as he logs more major league at-bats. The White Sox will look for him to balance out his six-to-one strikeout-to-walk ratio, too.

Elko said his biggest takeaway playing in the big leagues so far is that he needs to be on time for fastballs and make the most of pitches in the middle of the zone.

“They’re all big-league pitchers so they’re all pretty good,” Elko said. “We know they don’t miss their spots often, and you’ve got to take advantage when they do.