But really, there's no science behind an innings limit, period. It's simply the way things have evolved.
"In the last 10 years, no pitcher who has never thrown 200 innings in a season has gone from zero innings to 190 innings following surgery," Dr. Neal ElAttrache, a foremost expert on Tommy John surgery, told The New York Times. "Matt Harvey would be a test case."
Indeed he would. Harvey threw 178 1/3 innings in 2013, his first full season in the big leagues, before breaking down. He threw a combined 169 1/3 innings with the Mets and Triple-A Buffalo in '12.