I consider this pine to be a seedling. I've found that summer collection of pine seedlings has a very high success rate, and when combined with winter bottom heating can generate a lot of roots prior to the next spring, meaning the tree doesn't skip a beat. In almost all cases I get dramatically improved growth in domestication over the wild growth, even in the year immediately after collection. I collect a sufficient number of seedlings that I can be daring with followup work -- I wire them heavily less than 12 months after collection, prune, etc.
There aren't really any hidden measures of robustness in a pine IMO. If you have an acceleration in foliage quantity, and if you have needle elongation exceeding that of the previous year, that can only happen if the roots are in healthy expansion. If needles are sharp, lustrous, and firm by about this time of year, you're probably well past the danger zone.
@19Mateo83 in the last couple years this has become my favorite time to collect small pines. Worth taking note of my location, though, or investing in (fully outdoor) bottom heat.