Yankees catcher J.C. Escarra clearly thinks those barking about New York's new torpedo bats should pipe down ... telling TMZ Sports, "at the end of the day, you still have to swing the bat and hit the ball in the barrel."

The Bronx Bombers, of course, set the baseball world on fire this weekend after they debuted some wonky-looking bats in their series with the Milwaukee Brewers ... and then proceeded to hit a bunch of home runs with them in a three-game sweep.

Critics of the Pinstripes took to their social media pages to blast the MLB for allowing the Yankees to alter their lumber -- with many claiming Rob Manfred and co. let it all slide 'cause NY is the league's most popular team.

But when we sat down on Monday with Escarra -- who was out at a Raising Cane's in Times Square with his mom -- he downplayed the matter, noting it's all within league rules ... while pointing out others across MLB also swung them throughout opening weekend.

"People are making it a big deal right now," he said. "But, they've been around for a while. It's not just us that are using them."

Nonetheless, it sure seems like Escarra thinks they're at least somewhat effective ... as he tells us he's going to be using one in an upcoming game after seeing all the success his teammates had over the weekend.

By the way, if you're unfamiliar with how Escarra made it to the Yankees this year -- it's a pretty incredible story. The rookie was a longtime minor leaguer who actually had to work as an Uber driver before Aaron Boone officially put him on the roster.