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Tommy John surgery shouldn’t feel like a rite of passage for teenage pitchers, yet more high school baseball players are dealing with UCL tears and elbow sprains before they ever graduate. We sit down with Dan Deleandro, a sports physical therapist at Ohio State University Sports Med and an assistant varsity baseball coach, to get honest about what he’s seeing in the clinic and on the field and why the elbow is taking the hit more than the shoulder.

We dig into when throwing injuries show up most often, from cold early spring days with rushed warm ups to late summer fatigue after a packed travel baseball schedule. Dan breaks down the top risk groups, why velocity increases raise the stakes, and what changes once the elbow growth plate closes. We also challenge a few common pitching injury myths, including what the research says about curveballs, why fastballs can be the biggest stressor, and why a hard slider can become a problem before a player is ready.

From there, we get practical: smarter workload decisions for weekend tournaments, mechanics fixes that improve energy transfer and reduce arm stress, and “non negotiables” for pregame arm care. Dan also shares a clear eyed Tommy John recovery timeline for high school athletes and a story that shows how easily return to play can get rushed when emotions take over. If you coach, parent, or play youth baseball, this is a roadmap for protecting arms without killing development. Subscribe, share the show with a coach or parent, and leave a review so more programs hear this before the next injury.

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