20dad,
The doc said the rehab is 4 months before he can even throw a ball. My son is hoping that he will be throwing the ball well enough to make the baseball team--try-outs are in February. By the way, he turned 17 two days before the surgery. This is making his college selection process a wee bit more "interesting".
He is not a pitcher, he is a shortstop. The doc, a White Sox team doctor, said the shoulder doesn't know if it is "pitching" a ball or "throwing" it. It's the same shoulder motion.
The doctor, Gregory Nicholson, also said he is dismayed at the number kids that have injuries which require surgeries. He attributes it to the emphasis on playing year-round sports and "specializing" at an early age. Kids don't have the opportunity to rest their arms....and by playing only one sport, they work the same muscles over and over to the "breaking point."
Since I have two young softball players, he addressed them, too. He commented that softball pitchers are fine. They can throw all day long. It's the position players that he sees most often. Of course, I am taking everything he said to heart, and will do things differently for them than we did for my two sons. My girls thankfully don't pitch--softball pitchers have their own special danger--just ask their dentists!