Cubs' Nico Hoerner taking different approach to generating power

MESA, Ariz. — When Cubs second baseman Nico Hoerner roped a home run to left-center field this week for his first of the spring, it wasn’t because he bulked up over the offseason or tweaked his swing for more power.

“A lot of it is what you swing at pitch-wise,” Hoerner said in a recent conversation with the Sun-Times. “So having a better understanding of not just what I make contact with, but what I drive. And if you can put more balls in play in that bucket throughout the season, then I like my chances to slug more...