SARASOTA, Fla. — When Cade Povich had a second to rest amid the firehose of information that buffets a rookie major leaguer, the left-hander often found his eyes wandering to Corbin Burnes.

Burnes sat on the opposite side of the clubhouse from Povich, in a locker reserved for the most veteran players — extra space and away from the entrance. Povich could watch Burnes pitch at any time, even on television when Povich was with Triple-A Norfolk. But to see him here, in this behind-the-scenes locale? It was worth sneaking glances.

“For me being up and down, I talked to him a little bit about some things,” Povich said, “but a lot of it was sitting back and observing. Or, even just being around, you’d notice it.”

The young members of the Orioles all noticed and implemented various facets of what they learned from their one year with Burnes. The right-handed ace, whom Baltimore traded for last winter, departed in free agency for the Arizona Diamondbacks. But, around the Orioles clubhouse this spring, Burnes’ name still carries weight — for the example he set, for the lessons he taught, for the absence that must now be filled by those who remain.

The pitchers were closest to Burnes, but his influence extended beyond that. Step into the clubhouse on a day the four-time All-Star was scheduled to start and just watch — Burnes wouldn’t be up for much talk, anyway. Into the lounge he would walk, employing a deep breathing routine to settle his mind and body. After his start, Burnes would watch the entire outing over again to chart which pitches he executed correctly and why.

Every small detail was on display for an astute eye, and his Cy Young-caliber season was evidence enough that those small details are valuable.

Burnes finished his lone season in Baltimore with a 2.92 ERA in 194 1/3 innings. He was as advertised — a workhorse who never missed a start and rarely threw fewer than six innings. The example gave something for which the Orioles’ other starters could strive, but reality has its limitations.

“There are definitely some things we can take from him, and then there are other things where he is who he is and you can’t be that guy, no matter how hard you try,” right-hander Dean Kremer said. “It was definitely interesting to watch him on a day-to-day basis because he did things a little different than we were used to.”

Be that as it may — that true No. 1 pitchers don’t come around often — the lessons learned could elevate the levels at which those remaining perform. And it extends beyond pitchers. Heston Kjerstad, an outfield prospect who has bounced up and down since 2023, watched Burnes’ off-field routine, just like Povich.

This offseason, as part of Kjerstad’s training, he went beyond the usual pursuit of increased speed and strength. He can measure exit velocity and sprint speed, so those tended to be tempting areas on which to focus.

But his mind? That’s harder to quantify with a radar gun, yet it can have a major impact.

Kjerstad began to employ one of Burnes’ most frequent practices: visualization. Burnes closes his eyes before starts to picture himself facing each batter in the opposing lineup — and picture himself succeeding. Kjerstad began doing the same this winter and will carry it into the season.

“If you can kind of focus on the mental side,” Kjerstad said, “and focus on the things you can control, and focus on your process and not the outcome, I think it makes the season a lot more enjoyable.”

Povich, too, keyed in on the mental side of Burnes’ game. A family member sent Povich a podcast episode of mental skills coach Brian Cain speaking with Burnes, and the conversation prompted Povich to reach out to Cain himself midway through 2024. At that point, Povich was going through the standard volatility that strikes many rookies. If Burnes — a Cy Young winner in 2021 — did something, Povich wanted to try it, too.

“With where I was at, I was like, ‘I want to take that next step. I want to up my performance,’” Povich said. “So I reached out and ended up working with him [Cain] the rest of the season.”

And every fifth day, when Burnes stepped onto the mound, the stable of starters sat with arms over the dugout railing to witness one of the best in the game work. To right-hander Grayson Rodriguez, a 25-year-old with Cy Young aspirations of his own, the ability for Burnes to work deep into outings stood out the most.

Burnes threw fewer than five innings just once in 32 starts. Rodriguez took note of the way Burnes pounded the strike zone, limiting walks with his aggressive approach, and relied on his defense to eat up soft contact.

“That’s something I think a lot of us are going to be doing this year,” Rodriguez said, “just going out there, attacking the zone, not necessarily being around it, but just letting the guys in the field do most of the work.”

Rodriguez may be the next ace to don an Orioles uniform. He has the big arm required for the task. But one year of watching Burnes won’t impact him alone. Across the clubhouse, those who sat and watched a perennial All-Star for one year are better off for it.

“Being able to see somebody like that up close and personal this early in my career was really special for me,” Rodriguez said, “and kind of seeing how he went about his day, his work, I think it’ll help us a lot.”