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SHAOZHUO CUI The Roanoke Times

Kalian Sams of the Pulaski Mariners bats during the game against the Kingsport Mets on July 13. Sams' power surge has helped the Mariners to an Appalachian League East Division best record.

PULASKI -- Pulaski Mariners' Director of Baseball Operations Marty Gordon may need to invest in a few heads of livestock, or at least rebalance his checkbook. There's no apparent shortage of hamburgers at Calfee Park, but Gordon is quickly getting behind elsewhere.

A few weeks ago, Gordon promised outfielder Kalian Sams a steak dinner for every home run he hits this season. Sams promptly went on a home run tear, pushing his season total to a team-high seven in the past few weeks.

Sams has been battling food poisoning over the past week, but Gordon knows he needs to start catching up.

"I told him we would start those dinners whenever he's ready," Gordon said. "I hope he gets his appetite soon, before I get too much further behind."

Gordon's reward program likely came along at the best time for Sams and the Mariners. Sams began the season marred in a slump that saw far too many strikeouts. His power surge has helped the Mariners to an Appalachian League East Division best record.

"Physically, he's obviously very gifted, but he started off the season pretty rough, and had a hard time recognizing pitches," said Mariners manager Rob Mummau. "But we made a few adjustments with him the first week, and he's been improving ever since. His power is coming along, and he's driving the ball the other way a lot better. It's sometimes an upfield battle for Kalian, but he's doing a good job."

The most pressing adjustment Mummau and Mariners batting coach Lou Lucca have made with Sams is an overhaul of his approach in the batter's box. Though many young hitters are too impatient, Sams is often just the opposite. Mummau and Lucca are drilling an aggressive mind-set into the outfielder.

"He was definitely taking too many pitches, and we want our guys to use those three strikes effectively," Lucca said. "He's an RBI guy, so he doesn't need to focus on working a walk right now. We need him to swing the bat aggressively."

Sams admits that his patient approach was likely a matter of over-thinking.

"I sometimes have a tendency to take too many pitches in the strike zone because I look for the perfect pitch," Sams said. "But a guy my size doesn't get the perfect pitch often because pitchers have a job to do, too. They often set me up on the corners, and I have to adjust to those pitches better."

A native of the Netherlands, Sams signed with the Seattle Mariners in 2006, at age 19. Before signing a professional contract, he played youth baseball beginning at age 8. Sams also played for the Dutch National Team.

"When I was a little kid, I used to look up to all of the Dutch National Team players," Sams said. "Then when I was called up to the team at 18, I was playing with those same guys I had always looked up to. It was cool to play with those guys I had admired for a long time and I learned a lot from playing with them."

Once on the national team roster in 2006, Sams hit the radar of Major League Baseball scouts. Seattle scouts went to Holland for two games and then signed Sams on the spot.

Sams had never been to the United States before arriving for Seattle's spring training in 2007. He split his first season between the A-level Wisconsin Timber Rattlers in Grand Chute, Wis., and the short season A-level Everett Aquasox in Everett, Wash.

Sams hit 11 home runs with 30 RBIs last season, but struggled with consistency. He struck out 145 times, leading to a .216 batting average.

"Last year was definitely a learning process for me because I didn't really know what it meant to play professional baseball," Sams said. "It's a real commitment to play every day and work out every day, and I had to learn that."

Coming into this season, Sams felt more adjusted to professional baseball and life in America. He speaks with his family and girlfriend in Holland every day. He said he has felt welcome in Pulaski.

"It is definitely a smaller area that I'm accustomed to, but it doesn't matter where you play because it's all baseball."

While he certainly hopes to advance in the Mariners organization quickly, Sams realizes the work that lies ahead.

"The Mariners have plans in place to develop my skills, and I'm happy with everything so far," he said. "I think producing runs and playing solid defense are the most important things for me. I just need to focus on hitting consistently, being aggressive, not wasting at-bats, and playing as hard as I can every day."