Angels’ Huston Street dismisses the idea that Jake Arrieta’s rise is PED-related

Closer Huston Street took strong exception to any insinuation — inside or outside the game — that Chicago Cubs ace Jake Arrieta might have used performance-enhancing drugs to transform himself from a struggling Baltimore Orioles starter to one of the best pitchers in the game.

“I hear people say, ‘Oh, this guy all of a sudden came out of nowhere,’” Street said. “No, he didn’t. He was a first-round pick. He was supposed to have been a stud for four years. It just took him a little longer.

“All of a sudden, he’s pitching deep into games now? You mean a 6-foot-5 guy who works out six hours a day is not in shape enough to go deep into games?”

Arrieta, the reigning National League Cy Young Award winner, told reporters in Chicago on Tuesday that some teammates have told him that other players have wondered whether he is cheating.

Arrieta, who was actually a fifth-round pick, threw his second career no-hitter last week against Cincinnati and is 20-1 with an 0.86 earned-run average over his last 24 starts dating back to last season.

“It’s somewhat flattering,” Arrieta said, “especially when some of those comments are coming from some of the best players in the game.”

Stephen A. Smith fanned the flames of speculation Wednesday on ESPN, noting “how deep” Arrieta goes into games, “how his arm never gets tired,” and how Arrieta was demoted to triple A in 2012.

“I’m just saying to myself, all right, I’m not going to accuse you of using PEDs,” Smith said. “But I will say you shouldn’t just be laughing at those who are looking at you and saying, ‘Excuse me, what the hell is going on here?’ because it’s not like they haven’t seen PED users before.”

Street has known Arrieta for a decade — the two live in Austin, Texas—and it bothers him that some wonder whether Arrieta’s achievements are tainted.

“There is no taint,” Street said. “It takes a lot of fortitude to turn a career around after not doing much for four years. I’ve witnessed his off-seasons, his hard work, his positive attitude.”

Street acknowledged that suspicion of today’s players stems from the generation of players before them, many who were caught using PEDs.

“But we’ve instituted some of the most extensive testing there is — I got tested two days in a row in Chicago last week,” Street said. “I feel like the players and Major League Baseball have lived up to their end of the bargain.”

mike.digiovanna@latimes.com

Twitter: @MikeDiGiovanna