It would be interesting to know if there are many, or even any, kids that play competitive baseball for 12 months a year. Doesn't almost everyone take a couple months off from competitive baseball at some point during the year?
Risk and Reward...
No risk, play it 100% safe = No Reward
Too much risk, over do it = Jeopardize the Reward
All we can do is be as smart as possible. There is a risk every time a player takes the field or a pitcher takes the mound. You cannot reach your potential without some risk being involved. Will your priority be 100% health or give it 100%, all you have? Obviously it needs to be somewhere in between.
My biggest problem is (that in between area) is different from one pitcher to the next. I don't mean the obvious over use or lack of recovery time. Everyone seems to agree on one thing for sure... Fatigue being the biggest culprit! But what if one pitcher is capable of reaching 100 pitches before fatigue sets in, yet another pitcher reaches that point in 50 pitches? We all know this happens, we are talking about pitchers being different in every way.
My personal opinion is, it is vitally important that someone, coach or family member, knows what their pitchers limitations are, especially when it involves fatigue. Then the 50 pitch limit guy can possibly gain on that limit in a somewhat safe manner over time. But throwing him 100 pitches now is likely to create serious injury at some point. But no matter what, there is no way to completely eliminate risk and still reach your potential. It is possible to be aware of the most dangerous risks. If safety is the only thing that is important to you and your son being a successful pitcher is not important, then... "Don't let your babies grow up to be pitchers"