Coach_Dad, congratulations on "coming out" as a poster 
I'm going to bounce around a bit...
You do not have to play HS baseball in order to play college baseball. A good travel team and a good organized recruiting plan (along with the RIGHT TALENT LEVEL) will suffice. That said, not playing with the HS program may raise flags that your son must be prepared to answer to and, warranted or not, "the coaches were verbally abusive and not fair" will probably not be looked at as an acceptable response. At the end of the day, if he is a good enough player, has the grades a school needs him to have and doesn't have any other red flags on his resume, he will be able to find a college program, with or without HS baseball.
Speaking of verbally abusive and seemingly unfair, you just described the perception of most college players toward their college HC. Sometimes this applies even more so at the better JC's where they typically bring in a large cattle call in the fall, pick the best of the litter, turn, burn and cut the rest. So, to you and your son, be careful what you wish for. An old-school verbal yeller and a guy who doesn't want to get close to the players until after he has cut a bunch of 'em is quite common in the college ranks.
If the situation is really bad enough at the HS, cut bait. But, if your kid loves playing enough to want to play at the next level, he shouldn't let his dislike or lack of understanding of coaches keep him from playing the game he loves with his HS buds. He needs to work hard enough and know enough of what the coaches are looking for to create separation. Be good enough of a player to leave no doubt. Be a good enough teammate to leave no doubt. Figure out how to break out of the doghouse and stay out of it. Really, there is very likely a reason he is in the doghouse, whether you agree with it or not, whether warranted or not. Doesn't matter. Take action. Bust out. Rise above. Don't accept the disgruntled parent chatter. You may notice that chatter doesn't come nearly as much from the V starters and their parents in the program. Do you guys want to be part of the water cooler chatter or is it more important for him to be part of the baseball program?
BTW, he shouldn't have to choose travel over HS... as stated in earlier threads, any decent travel team will know to shut down or become optional when HS ramps up. As far as having the means, if he wants it bad enough, he can cut lawns or something to help cover travel team costs.
It is my experience that JV stats quite often mean VERY LITTLE in regards to how that may translate into success at V (particularly when compared to parent perception). Don't allow yourselves to fall back on his JV stats as a reason he should be owed something at V.
Best of luck. Keep us updated.