SAN DIEGO – Going from the minor leagues to Major League Baseball can be difficult for even the most talented prospects. The spotlight is bright, and the pressure to not only make an immediate impact, but stick at the big-league level, is high.

Especially in Boston. And especially when one is as young as Roman Anthony, who was 21 years and 27 days old when he debuted with the Red Sox on June 9.

There have only been three younger debuts in the last 30 Red Sox seasons:

Jeff Suppan (‘95), Xander Bogaerts (‘13) and Rafael Devers (‘17), who each reached the majors before their 21st birthday.

Rarely does it turn out as well as it did for Bogaerts and Anthony: a World Series ring for the former, and earlier this week, an eight-year, $130 million extension for the latter.

Bogaerts and Anthony overlapped in the Red Sox organization only briefly during the ‘22 season, but on Friday afternoon, the rookie was among the visiting players looking for the two-time World Series champion during batting practice. Not to reconnect like some of his teammates, but to introduce himself to this player he’s looked up to for years.

“He’s a guy I’ve watched have an amazing career, and continues to just kill it,” Anthony told the Herald. “He was a big impact in (Boston) for a very good chunk of time, so it will be exciting to hopefully go and (talk) with him and kind of relate to him in a sense… It’s been fun in the first two months (of my career) to just look at guys like him, guys that I grew up watching and be able to kind of connect with them on the field and talk with them and relate.”

Bogaerts was similarly excited to have Anthony in town. Though the veteran shortstop played his last game in a Red Sox uniform 1,040 days ago, he still watches their games and keeps tabs on the rising talent. The hard-hitting outfield prospect impressed him from afar long ago, and when the Red Sox called Anthony up, Bogaerts knew he wouldn’t be getting sent down any time soon.

“He got called up to play every day,” the veteran shortstop explained. “I got called up to play against some lefties. I played sometimes. He was hitting third, fourth, now he’s hitting first. He’s put in there to have a big impact on the game.”

Anthony did just that Saturday night. Facing Padres closer Robert Suarez in the ninth inning, Anthony tied the game with his 16th double. He, Jed Lowrie (‘08), Ted Williams (1939) and Jimmy Collins (1901) are the only Red Sox players with at least 16 doubles in their first 49 career games.

“That last at-bat against Suarez, I mean … ” Bogaerts shook his head in amazement.

They have a lot in common, agree players who know them both. Trevor Story sees three key similarities between the two: competitiveness, character and goodness.

“I think the main thing is just the competitiveness that I see in both of them, just finding a way to get it done,” Story told the Herald. “I didn’t know Bogey when he was younger, just watching him from afar, but being able to play with him for that year, you got to see the work, you got to see how much he cares, the grind that he puts into it, and I think Roman shares that, too. It’s just, gamers, I guess is the best way to put it. When it’s time to play, the game’s on and you’re just competing, and I think that’s what stands out the most between both those guys.

“It’s the character. These guys carry themselves the right way, go about the game with respect and respect for their teammates, respect for the opponents, respect for the game. I think that’s so important, and I think that’s a big thing to pass on to generations coming up. Because those are the guys that really lead the team, and I think those are the guys that you lean on when it’s such a long season, the ups and downs of it. When you have those guys, they’re always solid, and it feels like you can’t tell if they’re 10 for 10 or 0 for 10. They definitely share that.”

‘Mature’ and ‘accountable’ are two other words Red Sox and Padres personnel use to describe Anthony and Bogaerts.

“I think that’s the goal as a player,” said Anthony. “Obviously I’m a rookie, I’m a young guy so I don’t overstep my boundaries, but at the same time, that’s the kind of guy you want to be. As a player, as a competitor you want to be that guy in the clubhouse one day.”

“You hear a lot about him, like ‘He’s so mature’ and stuff like that. That’s a lot of credit to him, for sure,” Bogaerts lauded. “Roman’s really good, man. He’s really good. He’s the real deal.”

According to Bogaerts’ glowing scouting report, Anthony is already miles ahead of him in one crucial aspect of the game.

“I’m gonna be honest, what he’s doing at 21, if I was thrown out there to play every day I don’t think I would have been playing that good,” Bogaerts said. “I mean, my plate discipline, it was alright, still young, swinging at a lot of stuff. He looks more polished. He’s bigger, he’s stronger. I did not expect him to be – this is what you expect of him later on, two, three years from now. But right out the gate, he’s different.

“At one point, a .400 on-base percentage. You kidding me? Who the hell is doing that at 21? ”

Anthony is shaping up to be a difference-maker for the Red Sox for years to come. Few people in the game are as qualified to make that declaration as Bogaerts.

“This Red Sox team, they’re young, they’re hungry,” Bogaerts said.

“But then you bring up someone like Roman … ” he paused to think of the best way to describe the uber-talented rookie. “He’s game-changing.”