JUPITER, Fla. • As with most things at spring training, there is a method to the makeup of the clubhouse, from the lockers for young prospects stationed on the far wall to Yadier Molina at the cornerstone, from a bloc of relievers facing the door to what Adam Wainwright called “this murderers’ row right here.”

The lockers for the five pitchers returning to the rotation are all in order, leading toward the manager’s office, with Wainwright back in the capstone spot, as close as the spring clubhouse gets to pole position.

Its location is premium.

Wainwright knows it’s not a promise.

“I’m not big man on the totem pole. I’m old man on the totem pole,” Wainwright said. “I’ve got to go out there and earn my spot. That’s earned. When I came into spring training pitching, winning 20 games, I earned that next spring a leg up on everyone else. When you pitch like I have the last year and a half — when I’ve hardly pitched — you haven’t earned anything. So I need to come in and earn that spot.”

That audition began, in earnest and in uniform, Wednesday as manager Mike Shildt and Cardinals’ pitchers and catchers held their first official workout of the 2019 season. A storm sat over Jupiter, Fla., and the Cardinals’ complex for most of the day, and some of the planned workouts were moved indoors, under cover, or shifted to another day. Pitchers completed physicals — all but veteran Luke Gregerson were cleared to throw, as scheduled — and some used a 90-minute window to slip through the drizzle to throw bullpen sessions.

“We can play baseball in a little bit of rain,” lefty Andrew Miller said.

Rookie Alex Reyes was delighted to learn he was moved from a rehab group to a throwing group, and with a collection of coaches and teammates behind him, he threw fastball after fastball. The megawatt prospect has been limited by shoulder and elbow operations to four innings for the Cardinals since 2016, and although he’s on the same wall as Wainwright in the clubhouse, they are arriving at the same theme of spring from different directions.

Wainwright, the 37-year-old veteran ace, had the world and is out to prove he still belongs, and Reyes, the 24-year-old projected ace, has been promised the world but needs to prove he’s healthy and ready.

Both are competing for a spot on the pitching staff, starter or reliever, and during his brief comments to the team Wednesday morning Shildt stoked that ember of camp.

“We already know it’s inherently you vs. yourself,” Shildt said. “One of the things we did talk about is everybody in that room loves competition. A reminder to embrace it. There is competition in this room. One of the things that we love about athletics is we’re at the highest level where competition is at its greatest. We embrace that and welcome that and love that. And you’re involved with it, in competition, in that clubhouse with the talent we have.”

The first of 41 days at spring training began with a curveball for Shildt and his staff: rain nixed the fielding drills and run defense work they had slated for non-throwers. They had a contingency schedule in place.

Shildt had 30 minutes Wednesday morning to spend in his office talking with broadcaster Mike Shannon and Bob Gebhard, a special assistant in the front office, because he didn’t have to run off or scramble to reset the schedule. It was already in place, so Shildt “sponged” – the word the players use for what he does – more than 100 years of combined baseball experience and stories from Shannon and Gebhard. That listening, players add, shows in Shildt’s talking.

“What I see in him, honestly, is he’s better than any of the managers I’ve had before at any level (at) an ability to communicate,” Wainwright said. “I’ve got Tony La Russa, Hall of Famer. Mike Matheny won a ton of games. But I haven’t seen anyone communicate as well as Mike Shildt does.”

Communication became a larger part of Wednesday’s schedule than planned when Wainwright, Miller and the 15 other non-throwers for the day met inside and discussed run defense instead of going outside to practice plays at first base. Catcher Yadier Molina took catchers and pitchers through the run-defense signs, and he helped direct some of the conversation on how the Cardinals would apprehend opponents trying to steal bases. Even in ideal weather, Shildt and his staff will hold similar symposiums on strategy off the field — and then have the players take that information out on the field.

A total of 16 pitchers threw bullpen sessions Wednesday, including a slimmed-down Brett Cecil in the first group, a healthy Dominic Leone in the second group and Reyes in the third, alongside righthander Dakota Hudson.

Reyes said his adrenaline got a jolt from all the “eyes on you.”

“There is a pile of guys behind the mound watching guys throw because those guys have electric arms,” Miller said. “We have a fun mix of veteran guys and young guys who have talent through the roof who are trying to prove themselves.”

And fewer spots than they have arms. That’s where the competition lies.

“We’ve got a team unlike I’ve seen in a few years,” Wainwright said. “In a way, there are openings and in a way there are not. Everybody thinks they’ve got a spot based off performance last year. Young guys came up and did such a good job. We’ve got veteran guys who have been good for a long time who think they’ve got a spot. Everybody is going to have to go out and prove it to make this team.”

Injuries and ineffectiveness between injuries limited Wainwright to eight starts and 40 innings this past season. Back from Tommy John surgery, Reyes made one start and threw four innings before his right shoulder came apart. In their absence, Jack Flaherty, Hudson, Hicks, Austin Gomber and others flourished – entering spring training with a headwind of past performance. As it is for Wainwright in the clubhouse, he and Reyes enter spring with positioning for a role, but performance matters.

During his pre-workout talk, Shildt said he shared some “expectations and standards” with the pitchers and catchers present. He saved his spring speech for next week, when the full squad has its first workout and gathers in the clubhouse to hear from Chairman Bill DeWitt Jr., the front office, and “our two or three minutes,” Shildt said. In addition to the competition of camp, internal and external, and the collaborative communication he wants during drills, Shildt asked for something else from his first camp as manager.

“We talked about normalized excellence,” he said. “It’s great talking about it — it’s more about doing it. … The camp will have its own identity. I’m not worried about it being different. I’m worried about it being done well.”