On Monday night, Major League Baseball announced their finalists for Rookie of the Year in both the American and National Leagues, with Red Sox outfielder Roman Anthony being named as one of the final three names along with two Athletics - first baseman Nick Kurtz and shortstop Jacob Wilson.

Make no mistake about it, Kurtz is winning this award.

He’s been over a -1000 favorite since mid-summer, and those odds never wavered down the stretch, even as the A’s continued being one of the worst teams in baseball. And with a .290 average to go along with 36 homers, 86 RBI and 122 hits, I don’t blame the sportsbooks for keeping him at such a high number.

But if Anthony had played a full season in Boston, he 100% would have given Kurtz a run for his money.

For reasons that we may never know, Anthony was not called up to the majors until June 9. And after taking a couple weeks to find his groove, he ascended to the top of the pecking order for Red Sox hitters. By the time his season came to an end with an oblique injury in late September, Anthony had risen to a lead-off role, and was by far and away Boston’s best offensive player. He was their most reliable bat by a wide margin, and may be the second biggest reason why the team flamed out against the Yankees in the Wild Card Round.

In 71 games with the big league club, Anthony hit .292 with 8 home runs, 32 RBI, 75 hits and 48 runs scored. He had an on-base percentage of .396 and a slugging percentage of .463, good for an OPS of .859. He finished the season with a WAR of 3.1.

On top of the hitting, Anthony showed the ability to have some positional flexibility, spending time at each of the outfield positions while also DH’ing when needed. And while he only stole 4 bags in his 71 games, Anthony was an excellent base runner, routinely scoring from first on down the home stretch of the season.

Anthony came in with an incredible amount of hype, and he completely rose to the occasion.

Unfortunately, we didn’t get a chance to see the magic of Anthony as a rookie in the postseason at Yankee Stadium. It’s to project how a young player will perform when the lights are at their brightest in the postseason, but I hesitate to think Anthony would have struggled. Before his oblique injury, he looked like a 10-year vet out there at the plate. And had the Red Sox had enough pitching to outlast New York, I believe we would have gotten to see Anthony do his thing in the second round.

Regardless of the disappointing end to a magic season for the 21-year-old, Boston has to be smiling ear-to-ear about getting a long-term deal done with the future (current?) face of their franchise years before he could hit the free agent market and command Juan Soto money.

Less than two months after his call-up, Anthony signed an eight-year, $130 million contract extension with the Red Sox, which included a $5 million signing bonus and could increase to a maximum of $230 million with escalators for performance awards and All-Star selections. The deal is guaranteed for $130 million and will run through the 2033 season, with a club option for 2034.

The Rookie of the Year Award will be announced November 10.

Tom Carroll is a contributor for Roundtable, with boots-on-the-ground coverage of all things Boston sports. He's a senior digital content producer for WEEI.com, and a native of Lincoln, RI.