Behind the legs and bat of top prospect Elly De La Cruz, the Cincinnati Reds have taken Major League Baseball by storm over the last month. The Reds won twelve straight games in June, then won nine of 11 contests leading up to the MLB All-Star break. This scintillating month took Cincy from five games back in the NL Central and propelled the club to a two-game lead at the top of the division.

The Reds have lived and died this season by their bats, often largely on luck, as the Reds boast the sixth-highest batting average on balls in play among MLB teams. More recently, Cincy's bats have gone cold. The club went three straight games without scoring against the Brewers, leading to a devastating sweep at home after the All-Star break.

Cincinnati's most glaring weakness though is pitching. The Reds rank 26th in runs allowed per game and their starting rotation has the third-worst ERA in baseball (5.57). With Hunter Greene and Nick Lodolo both out for another month, the club needs to do something to remedy its negative run differential.

Here are 3 sneaky MLB trade targets for the Reds as the MLB trade deadline approaches.

3 sneaky MLB trade deadline targets for Reds to consider

Michael Kopech (SP), Chicago White Sox

Lucas Giolito and Lance Lynn are the big-name Chicago White Sox pitchers that playoff contenders will be fighting over as the trade deadline approaches, but Michael Kopech is an underrated pitching option on the South Side of Chicago and he comes with two more years of team control.

The 27-year-old has been dominant at times this year, including a 15-inning scoreless stretch that included 19 strikeouts and just four base runners allowed. But the right-hander has struggled with consistency. He leads MLB with 53 free passes, and didn't make it out of the first inning in his last start against the Braves, walking four batters and allowing four runs in the process.

The price for Michael Kopech will be higher than for Giolito since the latter is a free agent at the end of the season, but the Reds are a young team, and acquiring Kopech would go a long way toward cementing the rotation for the future.

Brooks Raley (RP), New York Mets

As with Kopech in Chicago, Brooks Raley might be the overlooked man in New York as teams look to lure away the likes of Max Scherzer, Francisco Lindor, and David Robertson. The lefty has been the New York Mets' best reliever this season outside of Robertson, posting a career-best 2.18 ERA across 40 appearances while operating as the club's primary seventh-inning man.

The addition of Brooks Raley would give Cincinnati a much-needed lefty — and a high-leverage one at that — out of the bullpen.

Blake Snell (SP), San Diego Padres

How much are the San Diego Padres willing to sell, and how desperate are the Reds to win this year? The Padres — currently 10 games back in the NL West and eight games out from a Wild Card spot are inching closer to pressing the reset button. If the Reds are serious about making this team a contender, then a half-season of Blake Snell would be an intriguing option.

Snell is a free agent after this year and has been nearly unhittable over his last 10 starts, posting a minuscule 0.62 ERA while striking out 14 batters per nine innings. He is easily the best rental option available and trading for him would make the Reds a formidable team down the stretch.