The Iowa Cubs team bus had just left Principal Park when it stopped and turned around.

“We’re asking ourselves, ‘What’s going on?'” Jack Neely said.

The confusion was quickly cleared up – Neely was asked to get off the bus – he was needed in Chicago as he was being called up to the Major Leagues.

“I was like, ‘Okay, you did it,'” Neely said, laughing. “(My teammates) were all super happy. They congratulated me. It’s a great group down there.”

(WATCH: Jack Neely talks about his excitement about joining the Cubs)

Neely was selected before Tuesday’s series opener against Detroit, with the team designating veteran Héctor Neris for assignment and clearing waivers.

The 24-year-old joined the Cubs last month as part of the Mark Leiter Jr. deal and has been impressive since then. In 6.2 innings with the I-Cubs, Neely has not allowed a single earned run and has allowed just 4 hits and one walk. He has struck out 13 of the 25 batters he faced.

“The numbers have been outstanding,” manager Craig Counsell said. “He’s striking out half the batters he’s faced. That’s good. He’s earned a chance. And he’s earned his first appearance here. And we’ll work him in here a little bit and see where it goes.”

That success comes from a simple approach: sticking to what he does best. Neely doesn’t have a wide arsenal to slow down hitters – instead, he relies on a simple mix of fastball and slider to get outs.

“They just told me to go out there, do my thing, throw the ball and let it run,” Neely said. “I go in, I throw strikes. I get ahead of the hitters, and that’s what really matters.”

The decision to part ways with Neris wasn’t an easy one — Counsell admitted he and President of Baseball Operations Jed Hoyer “discussed it for a while.” But ultimately, the Cubs were happy with their bullpen situation and wanted to bring in Neely — a pitcher they believe can impact the team for years to come.

“We’re bringing in a young player who’s going to make his first major league appearance, who we think is talented and will be part of future teams — we hope he can,” Counsell said. “We lost experience, and that’s something we couldn’t replace, I guess.”

“We hope we can find another player here who can prove himself and make an impact and continue to provide some options for the rest of the year and beyond.”