Former GM Sends Warning To Houston Astros' Division Rivals

The rest of the AL West better watch out, because here come the Houston Astros.

The Astros won again on Friday, beating the Seattle Mariners 5-3. Houston has now won five of its last six games and appears to be finally turning things around after a horrendous start to the season.

This is bad news for the rest of the division, especially the Mariners and the Texas Rangers. Neither team fully capitalized on the Astros' sluggish start, barely staying above .500 themselves. As a result, Houston is only five games out of first place -- a manageable deficit with 130 games remaining.

In any other division, that gap would be larger. However, first-place Seattle has the worst record (17-15) of any division leader entering play on Saturday.

The Astros aren't dead yet, and they still have plenty of time to make a comeback and rise up the standings. They're still a dangerous team, which is why former GM Jim Bowden warned the rest of the AL West about them on MLB Network Radio prior to Friday's win.

As Bowden noted, Houston has been hit hard by injuries early on, especially in the starting rotation. Justin Verlander and Framber Valdez both missed time before recently returning, while Cristian Javier and Lance McCullers Jr. are still on the injured list. With the exception of Ronel Blanco, their replacements have largely been terrible.

"It's not that this is a bad team -- this is a great team that didn't have enough starting pitching depth," Bowden said. "But when they get healthy, you better watch out...they're gonna come roaring right after (Texas and Seattle)."

The Astros have won six of the last seven AL West titles, but thanks to their slow start, the division is finally up for grabs this year. If the Mariners or Rangers don't win it, they're going to regret not burying Houston when they had the chance.