Round Rock Express infielder Joshua Rojas runs to third base for a triple during a Class-AAA Pacific Coast League baseball game against Omaha last week. The team is off to a 52-38 start to 2019 after a switch in affiliation from the Texas Rangers to the Houston Astros. [Nick Wagner/American-Statesman] ▲

ROUND ROCK — The affiliation switch from the Texas Rangers back to the Houston Astros is boosting revenue for the Round Rock Express, particularly merchandise sales, a club official said.

Home attendance is up slightly, about 2.4%, or 210 fans per night, at the Triple-A All-Star break compared to this time a year ago. The Express are selling an average of 8,662 tickets per home game. That ranks second in all the minor leagues to Las Vegas (9,405), which is playing in a new stadium.

Last year Round Rock finished a close second to Charlotte in the Pacific Coast League and third among 160 minor-league franchises.

Souvenir sales are where the 20-year-old franchise has distanced itself from last year, general manager Tim Jackson said, even taking into account the expected bump a club gets from an affiliation swap.

"Our overall merchandise is up 49%," Jackson said, without disclosing monetary numbers. "We initially ran out of stock of throwback jerseys, but cap sales are the biggest thing, by far. Our best-selling item is the Fauxback cap. We've gotten positive bumps in a lot of areas."

Jackson said the club, which resumes play at Dell Diamond on Thursday night against Iowa, has seen a lot of new faces at the ballpark. The Express, originally a Double-A Astros team, were aligned with the Rangers from 2011-18.

"Of course, you pick up on the orange pretty quick," he said of fans wearing Astros gear. We always felt Austin was about 50/50 Astros/Rangers, and whoever we were affiliated with would swing it a little more in their favor."

Winning helps, although promotions are considered a bigger deal in minor league baseball. For instance, Jackson said the April Education Day game sold an additional 5,500 tickets, not counting all the school children who got in free.

The Express have bounced back from three straight losing seasons as the Rangers farm system fell off the table. Round Rock is 52-38 and a title contender. Nashville, the Rangers' new Triple-A affiliate, is still struggling at 38-51, although the Sounds are third in PCL attendance (8,441 average).

The Astros, 100-game losers annually from 2011-13, cashed in on a bevy of premium draft choices, built a powerful system and won the 2017 World Series.

"I remember coming here last year with Fresno, and it seemed like almost half the crowd was Astros fans," PCL All-Star outfielder Kyle Tucker said. "We kind of felt like the home team here. The support has been good this year. It's quite a bit better than Fresno," which finished ninth in PCL attendance in 2018 with a 6,051 average.

Jackson said the tide has turned.

"It's pretty clear this is Astros territory," he said. "Not to say there aren't Rangers fans and so many transplants from all over in the Austin area. The feedback we've gotten this year is really heavy Houston. We had people from places like Fredericksburg and Killeen who told us, 'If you ever go back to the Astros, I'm buying season tickets.' And they did. People waited a long time for us to go back."

Carl Lawrence, sitting in the crowd at a recent game wearing a Rangers hat and T-shirt, said the flip-flop was inevitable.

"A lot of my friends are Astros fans, and that team is riding high," the Cedar Park resident said. "Not only that, but the Ryan family (who owns the Express) is so tied into the Astros. Guess I can't blame them. It was fun following Joey Gallo and others here. Now 'Stros fans got their kids to watch."