Righthander Kyle Gibson represents a gamble the Twins took that paid off. And it sets a precedent for how they might operate in this year's amateur draft, which begins Monday.

In 2009, Gibson came out of the University of Missouri with concerns about his elbow. He was eventually diagnosed with a forearm strain. The Twins looked at his medical records and decided to take him with the 22nd overall pick.

Gibson ended up having Tommy John elbow ligament replacement surgery in 2011, but he bounced back to make his major league debut two years later and might be the most talented pitcher on the Twins staff right now.

As the draft nears, the Twins are eyeing another pitcher with health issues.

Kolby Allard, a lefthander from San Clemente (Calif.) High School, has been sidelined since March because of a stress reaction in his back. It's not an arm issue, but he was considered one of the top prospects in the draft before the injury and has slipped some since.

But the Twins, who have the No. 6 overall pick, might not let him slip past them.

The Twins do extensive research on draft-eligible players. Dr. John Steubs, the Twins director of medical services, and assistant trainer Lanning Tucker review hundreds of reports on prospects and make recommendations to scouting director Deron Johnson and his staff.

And the Twins went into the weekend with Allard still on their list of possible players to take in the first round.

"We do a ton of research. Way more than we have in the past," said Johnson, who will captain his eighth draft. "Lanning is in our meetings via conference calls throughout the spring, every other week. If we have an issue or a question about a player with medical issues, he'll chime in."

Allard is listed at 6 feet and 170 pounds. He has touched 96 miles per hour with his fastball but usually throws in the low 90s. His curveball is one of the best of the draft class, and he has a solid changeup.

Allard is not the only player the Twins are considering. They have spent recent days narrowing their list of prospects while trying to get a read on what the five teams in front of them plan to do. Johnson said this year has been tougher than recent ones because there isn't a consensus group of top-tier players available.

Others the Twins have been linked to include Kyle Tucker, an outfielder from Plant High in Tampa, Fla.; Daz Cameron, an outfielder from Eagle's Landing Christian Academy in McDonough, Ga.; Alex Bregman, a shortstop from Louisiana State; and Dillon Tate, a righthander from California-Santa Barbara.

Cameron is the son of former big-league outfielder Mike Cameron, and there are reports his bonus demands are high.

The Twins' bonus pool — the league recommends a bonus figure for each pick in the first 10 rounds — is $7,691,684. That's 12th highest in the majors because other teams have more picks while the Twins forfeited their second-round pick when they signed free agent Ervin Santana. After the No. 6 pick, the Twins have the 73rd pick of the supplemental round. They received that pick in the competitive balance draft, which is a lottery for teams with the 10 smallest markets or 10 smallest revenue pools. Their pick in the third round is No. 80 overall.

It remains to be seen if teams will use all their bonus money — teams receive a penalty tax for going over their allotment — because this draft class is not considered a strong one.

"I don't know if there are strengths," said Mike Radcliff, the Twins director of player personnel. "There are potentially three or four college shortstops going in the first 30, 40 picks this year. That hasn't happened in a long time. But there's more average-type players. No excuse, you have to draft the right guy at No. 6. But I don't think this is a draft that has any special kind of trait to it."

With another top pick, the pressure is on the Twins to draft an impact player. Thanks to four years of ineptitude, the Twins have a top-six pick for the fourth year in a row. They have used this status to bring in top talent, talent that has helped them build one of baseball's best farm systems, drafting outfielder Byron Buxton second in 2012, righthander Kohl Stewart fourth in '13 and shortstop Nick Gordon fifth last year.

And now they pick sixth. With the Twins having the best record in the American League, they hope this is the highest pick they have for a while.

"This is another chance to continue to load up the minor league system with impact players," Johnson said.