How a swing tweak has Red Sox rookie Roman Anthony rolling - ESPN

NEW YORK — The first time the Boston Red Sox visited Yankee Stadium this season, Roman Anthony was in Worcester, Massachusetts, pummeling Triple-A pitching less than a month after his 21st birthday. On June 7, the night the Red Sox beat the Yankees 10-7, Anthony blasted a 497-foot grand slam against the Rochester Red Wings, his 10th home run of the season.

Two days later, Anthony was a major leaguer. And this week, on the Red Sox's next trip to the Bronx, the lefty slugger loudly introduced himself to baseball's most storied rivalry with a two-run moon shot to the second deck at Yankee Stadium with an appropriate bat flip in Boston's series-opening 6-3 win.

The ability to meet the moment surprised none of his teammates. Ask any member of the Red Sox about Anthony and three themes emerge: His immense talent, his quiet confidence and an old-soul maturity uncommon for someone who couldn't legally drink until May 13.

«He is probably the most mature 21-year-old, baseball-wise, I have ever been around in my life,» Red Sox third baseman Alex Bregman said. «The moment is never too big for him.»

That unusual combination prompted the Red Sox to give him an eight-year contract extension earlier this month, worth $130 million guaranteed plus escalators that could increase the total value to $230 million. The obvious was solidified with that agreement: Anthony has the potential to be the Red Sox's next homegrown superstar, and the best of a promising group that includes fellow top prospects Marcelo Mayer and Kristian Campbell. The organization is betting on him to become the long-term cornerstone that Rafael Devers never did, despite his own 10-year, $313.5 million contract.

Anthony entered Friday batting .286 and an .852 OPS in 59