I agree with your sentiment in general. Looking for an instant cash grab is silly and devalues what this platform is.
However, I do believe the minnow/whale dynamic points towards general flaws in the voting system. I may be incorrect, but as it stands I can't imagine a fully fledged 'attention economy' providing the intended results of Steemit.
I see the development of bots as a solution to many of the current issues of Steemit and I have no doubt as time progresses we'll see a drastic increase in the sophistication of bots, and the network in general.