Well, if guys were taking getaway day swings Saturday at the ballpark, what do you think they’ll do today? The season’s first half ends today, and everything was decided earlier in the week. Lynchburg won the first-half North title; Winston-Salem the South. Nothing at stake today, so a lot of regulars are getting the day off. No Lonnie Chisenhall for Kinston. No Pedro Alvarez for Lynchburg. Check out this Hillcats lineup:

2B Jose De Los Santos
3B Ray Chang
SS Jordy Mercer
1B Kent Sakamoto
LF Jared Keel
CF Alex Presley
DH Eddie Prasch
C Joel Collins
RF Maiko Loyola

Not a lot of mashers there ...

Anyway though, some housekeeping to take care of before getting to those Carolina League power rankings.

—The team chartered a van to take pitching coach Wally Whitehurst, outfielder Miles Durham, catcher Kris Watts and pitcher R.J. Rodriguez to Raleigh immediately following today’s game. They’ll catch a flight to California for Tuesday’s Carolina League-California League All-Star game in Lake Elsinore. First pitch Tuesday is at 10 p.m. Eastern time, so we’ll have a game writeup and box score in the Thursday News & Advance.

—When I talked to Hillcats manager P.J. Forbes Saturday, he said some personnel moves would definitely be announced after today’s game. Check out tomorrow’s News & Advance for more details.

—Unofficial Carolina League midseason awards—my picks:

* MVP—Miles Durham, Lynchburg. Durham has taken off during his second year in Lynchburg. He’s batting near .300, leads the Carolina League with 73 hits and has seven home runs and 39 RBIs. Runner-up—Christian Marrero, Winston-Salem.

* Pitcher of the half—Brian Matusz, Frederick. The fourth overall pick in last year’s draft, Matusz dominated the Carolina League. He went 4-2 with a 2.16 ERA and led the league with 75 strikeouts before being called up to Double-A Bowie last week. Runner-up: Bradley Meyers, Potomac.

* Relief award—Not sponsored by Rolaids…This goes to Hillcats closer R.J. Rodriguez, who is 4-1 with a 2.88 ERA and has converted all 13 of his save opportunities. He’s prone to walks (15 in 25 innings), but he’s also very good at getting out of trouble. Runners-up: Michael Dubee, Lynchburg and Aaron Hartsock, Wilmington.

* Manager of the half—P.J. Forbes, Lynchburg. No brainer here. In a minor-league system starved for any kind of success, Forbes has led Lynchburg to its best half of baseball in seven years. More importantly, players are getting better. Pedro Alvarez is a better defensive player today than he was in April, as is Jordy Mercer. Miles Durham made a tremendous leap in May and has kept the pace up through June.

Now for those power rankings ...

1. LYNCHBURG HILLCATS (45-23)—Last rank: 1.

Who’s hot? 3B Pedro Alvarez’s average is starting to come around. In his last 10 games, he’s hitting 3.00 with four homers and 13 RBIs.

Who’s not? RP Moises Robles has allowed seven hits and four earned runs in one inning since returning from Altoona. He failed to record an out Saturday and allowed five hits and four earned runs.

The skinny Even if Matt McSwain moves up, the Hillcats have a couple of solid starter anchors in Bryan Morris and Jeff Locke.

2. WINSTON-SALEM DASH (37-29)—Last rank: 2.

Who’s hot? 1B Kyle Shelton is batting .333 in his last 10 games with seven RBIs.

Who’s not? RP Santo Luis has allowed six earned runs in his last 10 appearances.

The skinny Winston-Salem bounced back nicely from the early promotion of OF Jordan Danks to claim the South title.

3. WILMINGTON BLUE ROCKS (37-30)—Last rank: 4.

Who’s hot? 1B Clint Robinson is batting .355 with three doubles and four RBIs in his last 10.

Who’s not? OF Derrick Robinson is in a 7-for-38 skid.

The skinny Team to watch in the North in the second half.

4. POTOMAC NATIONALS (36-29)—Last rank: 3.

Who’s hot? RP Atahualpa Severino hasn’t allowed an earned run in his last five apperances.

Who’s not? OF Michael Burgess is batting just .229 (8-for-35) in his last 10 games.

The skinny Wouldn’t be shocked if the Nationals send some of Potomac’s excellent young pitching up to Harrisburg.

5. SALEM RED SOX (31-36)—Last rank: 7.

Who’s hot? RP Derrick Loop has thrown eight straight scoreless innings over five appearances.

Who’s not? 2B Luis Segovia is batting 4-for-28 (.143) in his last 10 games.

The skinny The Red Sox have won six of their last seven games.

6. FREDERICK KEYS (31-37)—Last rank: 5.

Who’s hot? IF Robert Widlansky keep smoking the ball ... .463 (19-for-41) in his last 10 games.

Who’s not? OF Kraig Binick (.118 in his last 10 games) has played himself out of the starting lineup.

The skinny Keys lost pitchers Tim Bascom and Brian Matusz to Double-A Bowie.

7. KINSTON INDIANS (25-33)—Last rank: 6.

Who’s hot? OF Lucas Montero is 11-for-36 (.306) in his last 10 games.

Who’s not? SP Eric Berger has allowed two earned runs in his last 18 1/3 innings.

The skinny Kinston snapped an eight-game losing streak Saturday in Lynchburg.

8. MYRTLE BEACH PELICANS (21-36)—Last rank: 8.

Who’s hot? 1B Freddie Freeman is heating up—.389 with two home runs in his last 10 games.

Who’s not? RP Casey Hodges has been brutal since returning to the Grand Strand ... eight earned runs in 3 2/3 innings in two appearances.

The skinny The Freeman-Jason Heyward combo continues to mature.