More likely you'll end up with one of the last ones. Generally it is good to keep at least 6 months of validity on your passport if you plan on using it.
Depending on the country, it might be more difficult to renew it after it has expired than shortly before.
> Depending on the country, it might be more difficult to renew it after it has expired than shortly before.
Or it might make no difference whatsoever.
I renewed both my passport and my "origin" ID card ~6 months after they expired, through the consulate (though both my country of origin and my country of residence are in the EU). There was no issue whatsoever renewing them (I did cut it a bit short as I realised my passport was expired 2 weeks before leaving the EU for holidays, but the passport took under a week to renew and reach the consulate).
It is not my main passport; I carry a 2nd one (Also issued by my country of origin, Norway) - as I travel a lot for work, one passport may be in some consulate somewhere waiting for a visa while I go somewhere else on the other.
However, there's a bit of a calm period in my industry now, so I manage well on only the main passport (which doesn't expire until 2026, I got a new one last year - your 1st passport is issued for ten years, the spare for two.)
All of the 26 European countries comprising the Schengen area require that U.S. passports are valid for at least 90 days beyond the traveler’s intended date of departure and many assume travellers will stay 3 months, thus requiring 6 month validity.
I just realised I'll end up with one of the first ones - my current spare passport expires on March 31st, 2018.