PORTLAND, Maine – Minor League Baseball announced today that the Portland Sea Dogs had four players recognized with Eastern League postseason honors. Franklin Arias was named Eastern League Most Valuable Player and Top MLB Prospect, while Anthony Eyanson was named Eastern League Pitcher of the Year. Arias, Eyanson, and Brooks Brannon were also selected as Eastern League All-Stars at shortstop, starting pitcher, and first base, respectively.
This marks the first time in franchise history that the Sea Dogs have both the Eastern League MVP and Pitcher of the Year in the same season.
Arias becomes the third player in Sea Dogs history to be named Eastern League MVP, joining Kevin Millar (1997) and Kristian Campbell (2024). He is also the first Sea Dogs player to earn the league's Top MLB Prospect honor.
The 20-year-old Arias put together an incredible 2026 campaign in Portland from Opening Day through his promotion to Triple-A Worcester on July 25. He was also named the Sea Dogs' Most Valuable Player and Defensive Player of the Year, becoming the first player since the Sea Dogs' team awards began in 2001 to earn multiple team awards in the same season.
Arias batted .318 with a .406 on-base percentage and .587 slugging percentage in 75 games with Portland. At the time of his promotion, he led the Sea Dogs in runs (50), hits (90), home runs (19), RBI (52) and on-base percentage while ranking second on the team in slugging percentage.
Arias started the season in historic fashion, earning Eastern League Player of the Month honors for April after batting .375/.432/.764 with a league-leading 55 total bases, .764 slugging percentage and 1.196 OPS. He hit seven home runs in a nine-game span from April 14-25.
Of Arias' 19 home runs with Portland, 12 either tied the game or gave the Sea Dogs the lead. He led off every game he played for Portland and recorded 31 multi-hit performances. Arias was particularly productive with runners in scoring position, batting .379 with a 1.231 OPS.
Defensively, Arias played 61 games in the field for Portland, including 56 at shortstop and five at second base. He committed just three errors on 210 chances at shortstop for a .986 fielding percentage and went errorless in 14 chances at second base. Between the two positions, Arias turned 29 double plays while recording 72 putouts and 135 assists. His fielding percentage was the highest among Sea Dogs middle infielders in 2026.
Eyanson becomes the fifth Sea Dogs pitcher to earn Eastern League Pitcher of the Year honors, joining Michael Tejera (1999), Jon Lester (2005), Anthony Ranaudo (2013) and Henry Owens (2014).
Eyanson appeared in 17 games in the Eastern League, going 6-1 with a 1.82 ERA and 107 strikeouts. He averaged 12.19 strikeouts per nine innings while holding opposing hitters to a .192 batting average. Eyanson's performance in Portland earned him a selection to the MLB All-Star Futures Game alongside Arias and Eastern League Pitcher of the Week honors during the season.
Eyanson was acquired by the Baltimore Orioles from the Red Sox on August 3 as part of the trade that sent All-Star catcher Adley Rutschman and catcher Jake Rogers to Boston. At the time of the trade, Eyanson was in his first professional season after being selected by Boston in the third round of the 2025 MLB Draft out of LSU.
Brannon was named an Eastern League All-Star at first base after leading the Sea Dogs in several offensive categories. He finished the season batting .280 with 98 hits, 28 doubles, 22 home runs and 70 RBI. He also led Portland with a .580 slugging percentage, .915 OPS and 52 extra-base hits.
Brannon led the Eastern League in slugging percentage, ranked second in OPS, third in extra-base hits and fourth in doubles. He recorded 29 multi-hit games and 21 multi-RBI performances during the season, highlighted by a six-RBI game on May 8 and a five-RBI performance two days later on May 10. Brannon was also the recipient of the Sea Dogs' Charlie Eshbach Citizen of the Year award.
The four postseason honors cap a season that saw the Sea Dogs earn 13 Eastern League weekly awards, with four different players combining for five Eastern League Player of the Week honors and six different pitchers accounting for eight Eastern League Pitcher of the Week awards.
The Sea Dogs open the 2027 season on April 2. Tickets go on sale on Saturday, November 7th.