My son is 2 1/2 years removed from tj surgery and is now throwing in the Yankee organization and holding his own. In the last two weeks I've learned from a fellow poster that his son just had some shoulder work done, a friends son who pitches HS broke his hand playing football, and another player I know blew out his knee during college fall practice.
This isn't intended to be the words of a wise man, just a parent who has "walked the walk" and came up with an opinion after reflecting on our experience and thinking about the kids and the parents in their present predicament.
From a first hand point of view, sometimes an injury makes a player stronger from within. Intestinal fortitude is a tool that is not taught, nor is it realized until you have to search for it. When a player starts to feel better after the injury he is going to have those down days where he thinks his dream has hit the wall. Mom/Dad may not be there to pick him up, he's going to see teammates passing him on the depth chart and feeling like a team outsider, he's going to be sore, some days not seeing any improvement maybe digression, and those are the times he's going to have to reach deep inside and kick himself in the rear, pick himself up and work even harder. This is easier said than done. To this day my son said his tj not only made him a "smarter" player, but also a better student and more "complete" individual. Not only did he come to grips that life was more than baseball, but he understood that baseball is a game of luck, good/bad breaks, and hard work. With an injury the luck and good breaks will temporarily be taken away and the hard work is what is left to work with. Those who dig deep and work hard will find that the game will return and if not, they will know that they did not cheat themselves with their effort. That in itself is a life lesson that will pay off in the future.
As rz1 falls off the soapbox
