The Eastern League playoff format is only something you’d think about when it doesn’t work in your favor. Like with the Portland Sea Dogs this season.

The Sea Dogs completed their season Sunday with a 78-60 record. If the regular season was taken as a whole, that would be enough to win the Northeast Division, a game ahead of the Hartford Yard Goats and 2 1/2 games ahead of the Somerset Patriots. But the Eastern League awards playoff spots to the teams that win each half of the season. Portland finished 2 1/2 games behind Hartford in the first half and 1 1/2 behind Somerset in the second. So the Yard Goats and Patriots begin their best-of-three series for the division title Tuesday, and the Sea Dogs, despite their April to September consistency, clean out their lockers and head home for the offseason.

That season-long consistency was made possible by the embarrassment of riches the Boston Red Sox farm system provided this season. Fourteen of their top 30 prospects, as ranked by MLB Pipeline, spent at least part of the season in Portland. Over the first half, fans were treated to the trio that became known as the Big Three: shortstop Marcelo Mayer, center fielder Roman Anthony and catcher Kyle Teel. Later in the season, prospects including shortstop Mikey Romero and outfielder Jhostynxon Garcia joined from High-A Greenville.

Here’s a look at how each of those 14 players did in Portland, in order of their MLB Pipeline ranking.

Shortstop Marcelo Mayer played 77 games for the Portland Sea Dogs this season. He hit .307 with eight home runs, 38 RBI and scored 60 runs. Shawn Patrick Ouellette/Staff Photographer

No. 1 Marcelo Mayer: Mayer lived up to the hype that has surrounded him since the Red Sox selected him with the No. 4 overall pick in the 2021 draft. In 77 games with Portland, Mayer hit .307 with eight home runs, 38 RBI and 60 runs. Mayer hit 28 doubles and led all Double-A in the category for much of the season. His year was cut short by injury in mid-August when he was promoted to Worcester with Anthony and Teel. That’s two straight seasons Mayer was shut down early due to injury, which is disappointing.

No. 2 Roman Anthony: Anthony’s slow start, including a .205 average in April, did nothing to diminish his status as one of the top prospects in the game. By the time he was promoted to Worcester in early August, Anthony was Portland’s top power threat with 15 home runs. He got even better in Triple-A, hitting .327 with a .431 on-base percentage in 29 games with Worcester.

No. 3 Kyle Teel: The 14th overall pick in 2023, Teel’s quick rise through the Boston system continued this season. In 84 games with Portland, Teel hit .298 with 11 home runs, 65 runs and 60 batted in. Teel improved defensively and at calling pitches. His leadership was apparent in how he handled the Sea Dogs’ pitchers.

Kristian Campbell played 56 games with the Sea Dogs this season at a number of positions. He hit .362 with eight home runs, 35 RBI and 48 runs. Shawn Patrick Ouellette/Staff Photographer

No. 5 Kristian Campbell: A fourth-round pick last season, Campbell rocketed through three minor-league levels in 2024, excelling at each. Primarily a second baseman in his 2 1/2 months with the Sea Dogs, Campbell hit .362 with eight home runs, 35 RBI and 48 runs in 56 games with Portland. What stood out was his bat speed. It seemed every ball he hit, he hit hard.

No. 9 Luis Perales: Perales started just two games and pitched 7 1/3 innings with Portland before Tommy John surgery on his elbow ended his season. We’ll see if he’s the strikeout machine he was last season when he returns in late 2025 or 2026. Perales struck out 56 in 33 2/3 innings between Greenville and Portland this season.

No. 10 David Sandlin: The hard-throwing Sandlin came to the Red Sox via trade from Kansas City last winter. While Sandlin struck out 32 in 25 2/3 innings over eight starts with Portland, he surrendered seven home runs and had a 5.61 earned-run average. If he can better locate his fastball, Sandlin will see improvement.

No. 12 Jhostynxon Garcia: A center fielder, Garcia showed a lot of power in Greenville, hitting 16 home runs in 53 games. He hit just two home runs in 30 games with the Sea Dogs, but considering he began the season in Low-A Salem, Garcia faced a high learning curve. Expect that power to return next season with more experience against the better Double-A pitchers.

No. 14 Wikelman Gonzalez: Walks continued to be a problem for Gonzalez, who issued 46 in 83 2/3 innings. The stuff is there: Gonzalez started a combined no-hitter for Portland in 2023, remember, but his control has to improve.

No. 16 Mikey Romero: Boston’s first-round pick in 2022, Romero’s power impressed in his three-week stint to end the season with the Sea Dogs. Romero hit six home runs in 16 games as he adjusted to the jump in talent of Double-A pitchers. Romero likely will begin 2025 at shortstop for the Sea Dogs.

No. 19 Allan Castro: Like Garcia, Castro was promoted to Portland when the Big Three got the call to Triple-A. Castro struggled with the Sea Dogs, hitting .180 with one home run and nine RBI in 28 games. That’s not uncommon; the jump from Class A to Double-A is often the toughest. Castro will get a bigger opportunity to show his talents next season when he gets more than a taste of Double-A.

Hunter Dobbins didn’t allow a run in five of his eight starts in July and August with the Portland Sea Dogs. Gregory Rec/Staff Photographer

No. 21 Hunter Dobbins: The right-handed Dobbins could have been considered the Sea Dogs’ ace before his promotion to Worcester in late August. In five of his eight July and August starts with Portland, Dobbins didn’t allow a run. Opponents hit just .232 off him in Portland.

No. 24: Connelly Early: A late July call-up, Early struck out 48 in 36 innings with Portland. But the lefty also walked 15 as he faced better, more patient hitters for the first time. Early also hit four batters.

No. 26 Blaze Jordan: In his first full season of Double-A, Jordan had two stints on the injured list, after breaking a finger in May and getting hit in the face by a pitch in August. Jordan’s power dipped a little. He hit seven home runs in 353 at-bats after hitting six in 189 at-bats following a mid-July promotion from Greenville in 2023.

No. 29 Zach Penrod: In 2023, the left-handed Penrod was pitching in the independent Pioneer League and thinking it might be time to retire. Then the Red Sox called and his ascension through the system began. He made seven early-season starts for Portland with a 2.80 ERA and .183 batting average allowed. On Saturday, he made his major-league debut with a scoreless inning of relief in Yankee Stadium. Now how cool is that?