coaching decision

I think the solution could be pretty simple. The better person plays, at least to start the season. Maybe a freshman is good enough to start of the JV or even the varsity. Then they should.

It has to be an individual decision by the coaching staff.
If the coach had a freshman 6'3" 200# throwing mid 80's plus it would not make much since to keep him down.

In my son's case I believe the coach made the right decision.
I believe my son could have played varsity as a freshman, he was on the freshman team and they won the Division for the first time as freshman.
I believe my son could have made varsity as a sophmore, he played JV, and his team won the division with a 24-2 record.
My son played varsity his junior year and became first team All League.
There something to be said about going thru the system and learning to play with your age group. people /parents get caught up in having there kids play up but are they playing are sitting on the bench as freshman/sophmore's. I think playing everyday would be much more fun.
The EH

If he is going to play and help the team win then thats where he needs to play. If he is going to be used as an insurance policy leave him on the JV and let him develop. It really is simple if you just forget about what year they are and just play the best players. Let the chips fall where they fall.