Luis Robert is the megastory from White Sox minicamp

Todd Steverson started the annual January hitters' minicamp for the White Sox back in 2014 as part of his first winter on the job. Among the most intriguing attendees in Arizona was Matt Davidson, whom the Sox received in a trade for Addison Reed over the offseason.

(Reed just signed a two-year, $16.75 million deal with the Twins, by the way.)

The Camelback Ranch powwow was Davidson's introduction to the organization, the first stop on the way to becoming the organization's third baseman of the future that season. When asked about his initial impressions of the organization, he leaned heavily on words like "awesome," "really" and "cool." Steverson had a plan for Davidson that included pulling the ball less, which is one of those things that always sounds pleasant to the ear.

The next year, Davidson found himself trying to pretend his first year never happened after hitting .199 in Charlotte. He had another off year after that, and didn't resurface in the majors for the White Sox until the middle of 2016.

That's an extreme example that shouldn't be used to characterize Steverson's tenure on the whole, but the minicamp shouldn't be used to set expectations or agendas. The White Sox still haven't cracked the top half in runs scored during Steverson's tenure, finishing eighth, 15th, 11th and 12th over his four seasons at the helm.

The minicamp carries more value as a piece of marketing, because it's the mid-January equivalent of "pitchers and catchers report," with much-needed video of baseball activity and encouraging words all around. It's also how White Sox fans got first looks at Jose Abreu and Yoan Moncada after landmark acquisitions, and the same can be said for Luis Robert, who will be participating in his first stateside baseball activity after plying his trade in the Dominican Republic for tax purposes.

As Steverson's minicamp opens, Robert's period as more myth than man will draw to a close. The hope is that most of the hype ends up in the talent concentrate as it boils instead of evaporating. Until then, here's one last burst from Micker Adolfo via Scott Merkin:

"His first at-bat in Dominican instructs was a home run, first pitch he saw. He cleared the trees. It was probably 430 feet," Adolfo said. "But the guy is a specimen.

"He can field, hit, run, throw and everything. He plays hard. He's a really good fit for the White Sox and I would love to be playing next to him some day in Chicago."

Merkin also tweeted the complete list of invitees:

I'm guessing you'll hear swing-plane updates from Jake Burger and Blake Rutherford, but in terms of tangible use, the minicamp should also yield significant health reports. Charlie Tilson is the obvious one there, but Ryan Cordell (back) and Luis Curbelo (knee) also had seasons cut short due to injuries that weren't thoroughly reported due to a lack of exposure.

Then again, Tilson had no restrictions at last year's minicamp when it came to hitting, but running proved to be the bigger issue afterward.