Jul 12, 2008 12:43 PM EST

Rays rookie third baseman Evan Longoria will participate in Monday night's Home Run Derby, according to The Tampa Tribune.

Longoria said he didn?t expect to be asked but got a call on Friday and happily accepted. He?ll be the first Ray ever to take part in the Derby.

"I guess they needed another guy, but I guess they wanted me to do it just because of the amount of the fan votes that I got," he said. "I guess I?m pretty popular with the fans, so they wanted me to get in there and, I don?t know, show what I can do."

Longoria will join Josh Hamilton and Grady Sizemore from the American League, with one spot remaining open.

Via The Tampa Tribune